STAT+: HHS announces new efforts to speed up, expand clinical trials with AI

The Department of Health and Human Services announced new initiatives aimed at speeding up clinical trials by incorporating more artificial intelligence and computational models and moving away from sharply delineated trial phases.

The centerpiece is a five-year program called SURPASS — “Simulation-augmented, Real-time Platform Adaptive Seamless Trials.” It will kick off later this fall by accepting “ground-breaking ideas from cross-disciplinary teams in statistics, AI, and clinical trial design, operations, and regulation,” according to a website about the program. HHS is launching the program through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

The initial announcement did not say how much funding was designated for the new initiatives, nor did it provide details on whether participants would be offered more flexibility or resources.