DARPA Award makes CU Anschutz a key external research site in first-of-its-kind effort to evaluate emerging technologies and novel therapeutics for human clinical trials and FDA review

AURORA, Colo., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Colorado Anschutz will receive up to a $120 million award over three years from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to accelerate the evaluation and advancement of emerging technologies designed to improve care for patients experiencing severe hemorrhage. The award is the largest federal research award since CU Anschutz was established in 2006.

The award makes CU Anschutz a key external research site for DARPA's Resuscitation and Prevention of Ischemia-Induced Dysfunction (RAPIID) program, an initiative focused on developing and evaluating novel products to improve treatment of severe hemorrhage, including blood and blood-like products and diagnostic technologies.

CU Anschutz will independently verify and validate multiple emerging technologies and therapeutics, helping determine which products meet the safety and performance requirements needed to advance from laboratory and translational research into clinical trials and, ultimately, FDA review and approval.

The campus expects to evaluate as many as 11 products over the next 3 years. These may include novel blood or blood-like products, such as oxygen carriers, plasma- and platelet-based products, and diagnostic technologies designed to help detect hemorrhage and guide treatment.

The effort is notable for both its size and structure. Rather than focusing on a single technology, CU Anschutz will serve as an independent research institution across multiple products, evaluating them through successive stages of development and providing DARPA with objective data to guide decisions about which technologies should continue moving forward.

"Bleeding is the leading cause of preventable death after traumatic injury," said Vik Bebarta, MD, chair of the CU Anschutz Department of Emergency Medicine and founding director of the CU Anschutz Combat Medicine Research Center. "DARPA chose us for the testing models, clinical trial infrastructure, and combat casualty care research we've built on this campus. Our job now is to identify which technologies work. The ones that do could improve care for wounded service members, trauma patients, mothers with postpartum hemorrhage, and any patient facing life-threatening bleeding."

Not every technology evaluated through the program is expected to reach clinical use. CU Anschutz will assess products against established safety and performance requirements, allowing promising approaches to advance while identifying technologies that do not meet those benchmarks. This process will help DARPA rapidly determine which technologies warrant continued investment, development and advancement.

The program will be carried out through an Other Transaction agreement, a flexible federal contracting mechanism that allows DARPA and CU Anschutz to adapt the scope of the work as technologies and program priorities evolve.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity for CU Anschutz and a reflection of the trust DARPA places in the expertise of our people," said Don Elliman, chancellor of the University of Colorado Anschutz. "Our roots are military, and our future is about using the strength of this campus to turn discovery and innovation into better care for patients. This effort brings those missions together in a very meaningful way."

Researchers note severe hemorrhage is one of the most urgent challenges in trauma and emergency care. The technologies being evaluated through the program could eventually provide additional options for patients experiencing severe trauma and other forms of significant blood loss, including postpartum hemorrhage and bleeding during major surgery.

More shelf-stable and readily manufacturable blood products could also help address challenges associated with the nation's blood supply. By providing alternatives or complements to conventional blood products, these technologies could give clinicians additional tools while reducing reliance on donated blood.

"The United States is facing significant challenges related to the availability of donated blood. By advancing alternatives or complements to conventional blood products, the effort could help strengthen the nation's blood supply and provide clinicians with additional tools to care for critically ill patients," said Anne Ritter, DrPH, MPH, the senior director for the CU Anschutz Combat Medicine Research Center and associate professor in the CU Anschutz Department of Emergency Medicine.

CU Anschutz will draw on expertise across emergency medicine, anesthesiology, surgery, pharmacy, bioengineering, informatics, biostatistics, and other disciplines. The CU Anschutz Combat Medicine Research Center will contribute expertise in military medicine and the operational environments in which these technologies may ultimately be used. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital will support the clinical component of the effort, including human clinical trials as technologies progress. The clinical trial efforts will be led by CU Anschutz's ATLAS Research Program, which brings together researchers studying serious injuries and illnesses to find better ways to treat critically ill patients.

"This significant government-academic-industry collaboration is designed to address urgent clinical needs and save lives of military and civilian patients with uncontrolled bleeding," said Adit Ginde, MD, MPH, senior associate dean for clinical research, assistant vice chancellor of clinical trials and professor of emergency medicine at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine. "While combat casualty care is the primary programmatic focus, these advances also have the potential to improve care for patients in rural and prehospital settings and those experiencing severe bleeding during surgery, childbirth, or gastrointestinal emergencies. With the ATLAS Research Program's strong track record in acute care clinical trials and CU Anschutz's world-class research capabilities, we're positioned to evaluate these cutting-edge therapeutics and diagnostics with exceptional speed and high quality."

The program builds on CU Anschutz's experience conducting translational research and rapidly moving promising technologies into clinical evaluation.

The initial year of the program will focus on laboratory and translational research, including work needed to evaluate technologies and prepare for clinical trials. Subsequent work will depend in part on the performance of individual technologies and DARPA's decisions about which products should advance through the program.

The program represents a significant expansion of the alliance between CU Anschutz and DARPA, while creating new opportunities for technologies designed to address military medical needs to also benefit civilian patients.

This research was, in part, funded by the U.S. Government. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.

About the University of Colorado Anschutz
The University of Colorado Anschutz is a world-class academic medical campus leading transformative advances in science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus includes the University of Colorado's health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado - which see nearly three million adult and pediatric patient visits each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, CU Anschutz delivers life-changing treatments, exceptional patient care and top-tier professional training. The campus conducts world-renowned research supported by $890 million in funding, including $762 million in sponsored awards and $128 million in philanthropic gifts for research.

Find the latest CU Anschutz news here.

Contact: Laura Kelley, CU Anschutz
               (303) 704-5222, laura.kelley@cuanschutz.edu 

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