Bill to Create Biden’s Biomedical Agency Wins House Passage

House passage of legislation to shepherd biomedical breakthroughs through a new agency marks a critical step in shaping how the government entity will direct billions in health spending.

The bill (H.R. 5585), which the House passed Wednesday on a 336-85 vote, would establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health—modeled after a Pentagon entity for developing national security technologies. ARPA-H would fund applied research with short-term teams to solve major challenges, such as a vaccine to prevent most cancers.

Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, the bill’s lead sponsor and chair of the Energy and Commerce health panel, described ARPA-H ...