Scientists deplore sharp US cut in medical research funding

Cell lines are prepared in the laboratory of Dr. John Tisdale, a senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health on February 8, 2024, in Bethesda, Maryland. Two Americans whose lives were turned around by newly approved treatments for sickle cell disease (SCD) tell AFP they want others to benefit too. But the eye-watering cost — up to $3.1 million per course of treatment — could limit access for other patients. Tesha Samuels was born in 1982, just before the invention of prenatal screening for SCD, an inherited red blood cell disorder. SCD affects around 100,000 people in the US and some 20 million worldwide. Most people with the condition are Black. Scientists say this is because the sickle cell trait evolved to protect people exposed to malaria, so the risk of SCD is higher. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

WASHINGTON, United States — The US agency overseeing medical research has announced a major cut in funding to universities and research centers, a move strongly condemned by scientists and academics who say work on cancer and other diseases will suffer.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said late Friday it was setting a 15 percent limit on its funding of “indirect,” or overhead, costs linked to research.

That represents a dramatic drop, amounting to billions of dollars, from the indirect billings of up to 60 percent now charged by some organizations, the agency said.

“This change will save more than $4B a year effective immediately,” the official NIH account said on X. It said it was “vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go toward direct scientific research costs.”

The expenses being targeted include maintenance, equipment, and administrative costs at research laboratories.

The cut could affect research on diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, scientists said.

“This is a surefire way to cripple lifesaving research and innovation,” Matt Owens, president of COGR, which represents research institutes and university medical centers, said in a statement to AFP.

“America’s competitors will relish this self-inflicted wound,” he said, adding, “We urge NIH leaders to rescind this dangerous policy before its harms are felt by Americans.”

Jeffrey Flier, former dean of the Harvard University medical faculty, said on X that the approach by President Donald Trump’s administration “was designed not to improve the process, but to harm institutions, researchers and biomed research.”

He said it would “cause chaos and harm biomedical research and researchers.”

Scientists have expressed concern in recent weeks at the lack of transparency as the new administration removes reams of epidemiological data from health-related government websites.

The NIH announcement was saluted by Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump advisor leading an effort to drastically trim federal spending.

Some Republican lawmakers also welcomed the measure, which is likely to have its greatest impact on prestigious research universities like Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins.