HHS Launched SURPASS to Modernize Clinical Trial Models
The program aims to lower the 90% failure rate for drug development by using automation and new infrastructure.
Updated on Oct. 1, 2026 in Healthcare
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched the Simulation-augmented, Real-time Platform Adaptive Seamless Trials (SURPASS) program to overhaul drug evaluation. The initiative uses computational models to address the decade-long timeline and high cost currently associated with clinical development.
Why it matters
The current clinical trial system suffers from excessive patient requirements and high costs, with more than 90% of drug development efforts failing. This program seeks to address these inefficiencies to improve domestic research innovation.
Evidence Health received up to $49.9 million for the COMMONS project and $16.33 million for the STACK project. These investments target a field where drug development typically spans 10 years and fails in 90% of cases.
The players
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overseeing national public health policy and regulatory initiatives.
ARPA-H
The federal agency tasked with accelerating health breakthroughs by supporting high-risk, high-reward research.
Evidence Health
A research entity receiving federal funding to develop infrastructure for clinical trials and drug evaluation.
University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
An academic institution serving as a primary partner for federal clinical trial infrastructure projects.
The details
SURPASS establishes domestic clinical sites and a nationwide data infrastructure to streamline how biologics and drugs are evaluated. By leveraging real-time analysis and computational models, the program moves away from legacy trial structures that currently require years of data to ensure medicine efficacy. The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School will serve as the academic partner for the STACK and COMMONS initiatives.
Timeline
HHS announced the launch of the SURPASS program on September 30, 2026.
Formal submissions for the program are due by January 2027.
Market Landscape
The SURPASS program marks a strategic departure from traditional clinical development timelines by attempting to condense the decade-long cycle through automated infrastructure. It directly challenges the status quo where development efforts face a 90% failure rate.
Operators in the clinical research and pharmaceutical sectors should monitor the deployment of the STACK and COMMONS infrastructure for shifts in trial speed and cost-efficiency benchmarks. Firms should evaluate how these federal models may change the competitive landscape for drug development timelines.
The takeaway
The SURPASS program signals a federal shift toward prioritizing automation over legacy clinical infrastructure. Organizations should track the rollout of the STACK and COMMONS projects as a potential indicator of future regulatory requirements for drug efficacy data.
What happens next
Formal submissions for program goals are due by January 2027.
Further reading
For more on the current state of clinical research, see our Healthcare section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KXAN.
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