If The NIH's Budget Gets Slashed, Don't Expect Biopharma To Make Up The Difference

The end of 2016 looked rosy for biomedical R&D funding. The 21st Century Cures Act had just been passed and it called for the addition of $6 billion to the NIH budget. The funds were added to support both Joe Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” as well as other worthwhile research efforts. Given that the NIH budget had been at about $31 billion, this Act would provide long-sought, meaningful growth for the NIH’s efforts to understand the root causes of diseases that plague us all.