[12] On March 15, 2022, Public Law 117-103 was enacted authorizing the establishment of ARPA-H within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[14] After graduating from Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, Wright enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

[32] In the early- and mid-90s, Wright and NBC led efforts to persuade lawmakers and regulators to relax rules preventing networks from becoming multichannel program providers,[33] obtaining certain financial interests and syndication.

In that role, Wright spoke at the Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy in Geneva, Switzerland, pushing for lawmakers and businesses to curb rising intellectual property theft in the digital age,[36] and delivered a speech titled "Technology and the Rule of Law in the Digital Age" at the Media Institute in 2004.

[38] Wright's speech at the Media Institute was published in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy.

[42] One of Wright's grandchildren, Christian, was diagnosed with autism, prompting him and his wife, Suzanne, to found an advocacy group.

[10] During Wright's tenure, the organization teamed up with Google in 2014 on the MSSNG project to sequence a database of autism genomes.

[45][46] Wright resigned as chairman of Autism Speaks in May 2015; as of February 2016, he remained on the board as a co-founder of the organization and on its executive committee.

[47][48] His book, The Wright Stuff: from NBC to Autism Speaks, written with Diane Mermigas, was published March 29, 2016.

[49] The Suzanne Wright Foundation launched CodePurple, a national awareness and advocacy campaign to fight pancreatic cancer.

[52] Through advocacy and awareness, the foundation's goal was to accelerate discovery of detection tools, better treatments, and ultimately, a cure for pancreatic cancer.

HARPA would exist with HHS and leverage federal research assets and private sector tools to drive medical breakthroughs for diseases, like pancreatic cancer, that have not benefited from the current system.

HARPA's identical operating principles, built on urgency, leadership, high-impact investments and accountability, would advance scientific research "from bench to bedside."

HARPA would work within an innovation ecosystem that includes: the commercial market; biotech and healthcare companies; venture capital and philanthropy; academic institutions; and other government and regulatory agencies.

[53] On May 22, 2018, The Suzanne Wright Foundation premiered their film The Patients Are Waiting: How HARPA Will Change Lives, in New York City.

Panelists included Bob Wright, Dr. Herbert Pardes, Executive Vice Chairman of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital; Former Director NIMH, Dr. Geoffrey Ling, Col.

Prof. of Neurology, Johns Hopkins; Founder & Former Director, DARPA BTO, Jessica Morris, Co-founder of OurBrainBank, and Karen Reeves, President & CMO, AZTherapies.

On March 15, 2022, Public Law 117-103 was enacted authorizing the establishment of ARPA-H within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.