The federal government wants to change how new medicines are tested in people. On Sept. 30, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced SURPASS, a program run by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) that aims to use computer simulations, digital twins, real-time data analysis, and automation to test drugs and biologics faster, at lower cost, and with fewer participants.
The HHS announcement, made in Austin, Texas, also introduced three companion projects meant to add trial sites, build a national research data system and help patients share their own health records with researchers. What the release leaves out matters just as much. It names no budget, no target diseases, and no detailed patient privacy rules for SURPASS itself.
