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.

A new UMR report documents how Recovery Act funding of medical research through the NIH is creating and preserving jobs, laying the foundation for industry growth, and helping to reduce long-term health care costs. Investing in Recovery and Discovery illustrates these benefits through real-life stories of research scientists and their Recovery Act-funded work.

According to Dr. Steve Fluharty, Vice Provost for Research at the University of Pennsylvania, “the impact of NIH funding goes beyond the lab and into the companies that supply many of the 325,000 NIH-funded researchers across the country with the tools, technology and resources they need. Further, NIH grantees generate many of the discoveries the nation’s most significant employers – the biotech and pharmaceutical industries – build upon to create the next generation of treatments and cures.”

At the same time the funding is forging new areas of science, many of which could not have been pursued just 10 years ago, and others which could have been neglected without ARRA.  “We now have the unique opportunity to explore exciting new fields of science that may fundamentally impact our understanding of diseases, and help to tailor treatments with more precision to address the unique needs of very different patients,”says Dr. Clyde Yancy, President of the American Heart Association. “The ARRA infusion was more than a stimulus; it has been a catalyst that now provides the opportunity to jumpstart the pace of scientific discovery and ultimately to effect major advances in the quality of health for the American population.”

To learn more about how NIH funding through the Recovery Act is at work across the country in the service of better health and a healthier economy, visit here.  And to read and download the full report, visit here.

This week UMR released a detailed report on how Recovery Act funding of medical research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is at work across the country in the service of better health and a healthier economy.

Investing in Recovery and Discovery documents how the $10.5 billion infusion in 2009 and 2010 in biomedical innovation is creating jobs, fueling industry growth, and helping reduce long-term health care costs.

The report illustrates these benefits of the Recovery Act funding through real-life stories of scientists and their  work.  It also notes that many such scientific and economic advancements could be slowed or neglected if funding were to fall back to pre-Recovery Act levels in 2011 and beyond. 

As Janet Lambert of UMR’s Executive Board states, “the stimulus infusion is demonstrating that reinvesting in innovative biomedical ideas through the NIH can help the nation achieve better health and a stronger economy.  How much we commit to NIH over time in large measure will determine our success.” 

To download the full report, visit here.  To learn more, visit here.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government set aside more than $1 billion to study the pros and cons of health treatments.

According to Science Insider, an expert panel suggested 100 priorities for the so-called “comparative effectiveness research” (CER) funded in the economic stimulus package.

According to the Science Insider article:

The topics, culled from more than 2600 suggestions, range from heart disease treatments to ways to encourage breastfeeding. The report from the Institute of Medicine does not shy away from advising researchers to consider “cost-effectiveness,” a term that has raised concern from some members of Congress that it will lead to rationing.

Eighteen Stanford University School of Medicine projects that had been stalled by budget shortfalls at the National Institutes of Health are moving forward now, thanks to $6.9 million in federal economic stimulus funding.

Eleven of the newly funded projects had been peer-reviewed and approved but hadn’t received money yet. Another six involved supplemental grants to existing projects. And in one case, the NIH awarded $500,000 to a researcher to buy two photon microscopes that will be shared with other laboratories.

These projects are the first at the medical school to receive support under the national stimulus plan, with additional grants expected down the road, officials said.

“This is a lifesaver,” said Francis Blankenberg, MD, associate professor of radiology and of pediatrics, who received $655,000 in stimulus funds. “It really stabilizes the lab.”

Blankenberg and his colleagues are working on a novel radiotherapy approach to targeting breast and colon tumors. The technique uses a radiolabeled form of the protein called VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) to selectively target and destroy tumor vessels along with the tumor itself. The researchers initially had applied for a grant in 2007 and, after two more resubmissions, received a score in the 21(st) percentile. The cutoff was at the 15(th) percentile.

“In the old days, they probably would have funded it,” he said, but the project remained temporarily sidelined by the stiff competition for limited NIH money. The money will pay for two postdoctoral scholars, as well as Blankenberg and another faculty member part-time.

Philip Pizzo, MD, the dean of the School of Medicine, said the stimulus funding is critical to the country’s health-care reform effort because of the linkage between research and medical care.

Additional details about the Standford School of Medicine’s use of NIH stimulus funds can be found here.

In 2009, the story of NIH funding took an exciting and dramatic turn.

Following years of flat budget allocations, NIH received $10.4 Billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus dollars, to be spent in the next 2 years.

Many of the funds will allow for breakthroughs in that scientists were simply unable to pursue for lack of funding.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will be bringing you important research success stories.

UMR is collecting and preparing reporting on the use of these funds, the bulk of which are being awarded through the NIH to major research universities and other institutions around the country.

Be sure to subscribe to receive regular updates from us – and if you have an ARRA Funding success story to share, email us at unitedformedicalresearch (at) gmail (dot) com.