ARPA-H launches up to $100M for EVIDENT to demystify mental health and validate rapid behavioural health therapeutics, including psychedelics

ARPA-H set aside up to $100M for an initiative called EVIDENT to develop objective measures of mental and behavioral health and to validate rapid-acting behavioral health therapeutics. The effort targets the limitations of subjective clinical endpoints by aiming to predict and observe how patients respond to rapid interventions before and during treatment, aligning with goals commonly framed as precision psychiatry. EVIDENT is positioned as a mental-health moonshot from ARPA-H and signals that a class labeled "neuroplastogens" could feature prominently. ARPA-H guidance suggests that neuroplastogens may include ketamine, ibogaine, psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and other related approaches, alongside neuromodulation and digital therapeutics.