# ARPA-H Awards Rice University $18.2M to Develop First Regenerative Lymphedema Therapy

> financing · REPORTED · 2026-03-04

ARPA-H awarded a Rice University-led team up to $18.2 million to develop the ELIXIR platform, a first-of-its-kind regenerative treatment aimed at restoring damaged lymphatic vessels in lymphedema patients, with clinical collaborations at Texas Children's Hospital and UT MD Anderson. Projected patient cost is $5,000 to $10,000 as a one-time treatment, representing less than half the current annual management cost.

About Rice University / ARPA-H GLIDE Program: The Rice University ELIXIR program, led by bioengineer Omid Veiseh and supported by ARPA-H, is developing a regenerative cell therapy platform designed to restore lymphatic vessel function and potentially cure lymphedema in cancer survivors.

- Company: Rice University / ARPA-H GLIDE Program
- Sector: therapeutics
- Primary source: https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-led-research-develop-first-regenerative-therapy-lymphedema-receives-182m-federal

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Source: MedFuel Intel news monitor. Verification tier: REPORTED. Informational only, not investment advice. Corrections: media@medfuelinc.com.