In a recent op-ed published in Science Progress, Clyde Yancy (President of the American Heart Association), Edward Miller (Dean of the Medical Faculty and CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine) and Greg Lucier (CEO of Life Technologies) touted the importance of making a robust, long-term investment in NIH research.
The op-ed came on the eve of the 1-year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and speaks of some of the benefits of investing in NIH research. These benefits include: driving American innovation, contributing to America’s economic progress and providing better, longer lives for Americans.
As Yancy, Miller and Lucier wrote, “All this adds up to a vibrant national bio-economic system that grows and flourishes with the right starter funding and seed money from NIH. We have only begun to tap the potential of NIH-funded research as an economic growth engine. It is a catalyst for even further growth that should not be overlooked.”
The full article is pasted below. Please click here to view on Science Progress’ site.
Investing in Recovery and Discovery
President’s Budget and ARRA Support a Healthy Economy and Citizenry
By Clyde Yancy, Edward D. Miller and Greg Lucier
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Against the backdrop of our economic concerns, and on the eve of the anniversary of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s passage, President Obama has made a compelling case in his 2011 budget proposal for continued federal investments that deliver both immediate and long-term returns for the well-being of the American people. Investing in biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health is just such an investment.
Granted, biomedical science is not the most obvious answer on most people’s minds when it comes to our economic woes. And certainly, it is not the only solution. But far too often, it is overlooked as a major source of American innovation, economic progress, and perhaps most importantly, better and longer lives for our fellow citizens.
NIH funding directly and indirectly contributes to good jobs and is a proven engine of economic growth. Each year, biomedical funding through the NIH directly supports 325,000 good-paying jobs in research institutions in all fifty states and the U.S. territories, with a positive economic impact rippling far beyond the labs themselves. The Recovery Act will have created or saved roughly 50,000 jobs, as well. But the impact of biomedical investment goes far beyond the lab.
Each research facility runs like a small business, hiring junior staff and purchasing space, supplies tools, and equipment—not to mention the communities they help support. This directly contributes to new business for the companies around the country that supply these resources. In fact, it has been estimated that every $1 of NIH funding results in more than $2 in additional business activity and economic output.
Some of the nation’s largest employers—companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries—also seize upon NIH-funded discoveries to produce the next generation of treatments and cures. A recent biotechnology industry poll of its members showed that 50 percent of respondents said their companies were founded on such licensed ideas and technologies.
All this adds up to a vibrant national bio-economic system that grows and flourishes with the right starter funding and seed money from NIH. We have only begun to tap the potential of NIH-funded research as an economic growth engine. It is a catalyst for even further growth that should not be overlooked.
But NIH funding is also at the center of a game-changing movement: the revolution in biomedical science that promises to transform the scale and scope of new treatments and cures in the decades ahead. Using newly gained knowledge about biological structures and functions, scientists now have the opportunity to combat disease in unimagined ways. They no longer have to be reactive—merely describing the symptoms of a disease, applying the treatments at their disposal and watching to see what works.
Instead, they are applying the knowledge gained through decades of arduous scientific study to zero in on a disease, its triggers, and crucial steps in its development. Using discoveries and new technologies made in just the last decade—like the mapping of the human genome—scientists can now understand the molecular drivers of disease and more importantly, how to affect them. As the president pointed out in his budget announcement earlier this month, that means there is potential for cancer treatments that target the disease while leaving healthy cells unharmed; or new treatments that rewire the brain after a stroke, allowing patients to reclaim their bodies.
Combined with the increasingly rapid evolution of sophisticated biotechnology and information technology tools, this revolution in biomedical science means there can be a much shorter distance and time between basic discovery and new treatments. And patients will be the greatest beneficiaries.
We will witness a transformational shift from one-size-fits all treatments that don’t always work to tailored treatments that meet the unique needs of very different patient populations, ensuring efficient and effective care. And that means higher quality health care, with less waste and at less cost—a win for all.
This week will mark the one-year anniversary of the 2009 Recovery Act, which infused more than $10 billion into the biomedical research community through the NIH. We applaud the president on continuing the consistency of his commitment after ARRA. The kind of transformations we’re talking about—in health and the economy—can only come to full fruition if funding remains relatively consistent.
Science cannot progress in cycles of boom or bust, but rather with predictable and robust financial commitments. The right choice is to make a wise, long-term investment in NIH research. It’s an investment with strong economic returns and priceless value: better health for our families, neighbors, and friends.
Clyde Yancy is President of the American Heart Association. Edward D. Miller is the Dean of the Medical Faculty and CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine. Greg Lucier is the CEO of Life Technologies.
The American Heart Association, Johns Hopkins, and Life Technologies are all members of United for Medical Research.
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