Statement of Gregory T. Lucier, United for Medical Research spokesperson and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Life Technologies

WASHINGTON – “On behalf of United for Medical Research (UMR), a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry, I applaud Chairman Obey and the House Appropriations Subcommittee for their approval of $32 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) FY2011 budget. Today’s markup provides a significant step forward toward increased investment in life-saving and economy-boosting medical research funding.

“NIH funds are not just a vital tool in our pursuit to reduce the burden of disease and its associated health care costs, but also yield essential dividends in our states and communities – from job creation and industry growth to better quality of life for millions of patients and families.

“On behalf of UMR, I commend Chairman Obey’s leadership and the appropriations subcommittee action and urge Congress to continue moving forward and secure a significant funding increase for the NIH.

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing today to discuss the National Institutes of Health (NIH) FY2011 budget, a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry companies applauded the appropriators’ attention to the life-saving public health issue.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, was the witness in today’s hearing, highlighting the impressive research advancements over the years through NIH funding, as well as the need to remain steadfast in “the research marathon.”

The United for Medical Research (UMR) coalition advocates for sustained, high levels of NIH biomedical funding critical to ensuring new scientific discoveries to ultimately reduce the burden of disease and death and promote economic growth across the country.

“The impact NIH investments have on our nation’s health and economic well-being are undeniable,” said Gregory T. Lucier, UMR spokesperson and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Life Technologies. “Research funding boosts job creation and industry growth and yields health care cost reductions and improved quality of life for patients and their families. At this critical moment in science, we urge Congress to continue to invest sufficient, sustained funding to find the next generation of treatments and cures.”

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services held a hearing today to discuss the National Institutes of Health (NIH) FY2011 budget, a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry companies applauded the appropriators’ attention to the life-saving public health issue.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, was the lead witness in Wednesday’s hearing, highlighting the impressive research advancements over the years through NIH funding, as well as the need to remain steadfast in “the research marathon.”

“Whatever the disease, be it depression, diabetes, or something much rarer, NIH’s emphasis in FY 2011 and beyond will be on translating basic discoveries into new diagnostic and treatment advances in the clinic,” said Collins. Later he stressed, “It is crucial to keep in mind that investing in NIH not only improves America’s health and strengthens our nation’s biomedical research potential, it empowers the entire U.S. economy.”

The United for Medical Research (UMR) coalition advocates for sustained, high levels of NIH biomedical funding critical to ensuring new scientific discoveries to ultimately reduce the burden of disease and death and promote economic growth across the country.

“NIH investments have led to breakthroughs in medical research, such as the mapping of the human genome,” said Gregory T. Lucier, UMR spokesperson and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Life Technologies. “But science cannot progress in cycles of boom or bust; rather it requires reliable and robust financial investment. We urge Congress to provide significant funding increases to the NIH to empower the nation’s army of scientists to find the next generation of treatments and cures.”

Medical Research Coalition Applauds Additional Funding to Benefit Public Health and the Economy

WASHINGTON – United for Medical Research (UMR), a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry companies, applauds the support of a strong, bipartisan contingent of the nation’s governors to make increased biomedical funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a priority in the FY2011 budget. The 25 governors voiced their commitment to the life sciences industry in a letter to Congress, asking them to meet the President’s request for $32.2 billion.  

The governors highlighted the NIH’s ability to enable scientific talent and discoveries, leading to new treatments and cures for patients in need. The letter also highlighted the ability of biomedical research to serve as an economic engine in cities and states across the country, providing 350,000 jobs nationwide.

UMR appreciates this effort from state leadership across the country and will continue the drumbeat for strong, sustained funding for the NIH to improve both the lives of the countless patients who count on the results of biomedical research and the health of our national economy.

The text of the Governors’ letter follows:

Dear Chairmen Conrad and Spratt and Ranking Members Gregg and Ryan:

We, the undersigned governors, thank you for your past support for biomedical research and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and ask you to craft a budget resolution that accommodates the President’s $32.2 billion FY 2011 NIH budget request.

The greatest contribution NIH makes is to the health and well-being of Americans.  Past federal investments in medical research, combined with those from the private sector, have led to improved health, better quality of life, and improved productivity for millions of patients and their families.

But NIH is also an important national, regional, and local economic engine.  Together, our states received more than $19 billion from the NIH last year for promising research efforts.  NIH funding directly supports 350,000 jobs across the U.S.  In our states, we see firsthand the world class research institutions and scientific teams enabled by NIH, as well as the indirect job benefits of laboratories needing space, supplies, services, and equipment.  We are also deeply aware that NIH-funded discoveries are the basis of new companies and even new industries in our communities.

NIH research is an instrumental part of the success of the U.S. life sciences industry and its 6 million high wage U.S. jobs. Moreover, follow-on life science research advances are now stimulating new jobs and new solutions in green energy, agriculture, the environment and industrial manufacturing. NIH funding enables the scientific talent and discoveries that are at the heart of this vast array of economic activity.

As you develop the Congressional Budget Resolution, we urge you to enable the 3.2% funding increase for NIH contained in the President’s budget request.

With warm regards,

Governor Jim Doyle, Wisconsin

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California

Governor Bob Riley, Alabama

Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., Colorado

Governor M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut

Governor Jack Markell, Delaware

Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois

Governor Chester J. Culver, Iowa

Governor Mark Parkinson, Kansas

Governor Steve L. Beshear, Kentucky

Governor Martin O’Malley, Maryland

Governor Deval Patrick, Massachusetts

Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey

Governor David A. Paterson, New York

Governor Bev Perdue, North Carolina

Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio

Governor Brad Henry, Oklahoma

Governor Theodore R. Kulongoski, Oregon

Governor Edward G. Rendell, Pennsylvania

Governor M. Michael Rounds, South Dakota

Governor Phil Bredesen, Tennessee

Governor James H. Douglas, Vermont

Governor Christine O. Gregoire, Washington

Governor Joe Manchin III, West Virginia

Governor Dave Freudenthal, Wyoming

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama took the opportunity to once again link America’s investment in basic research to the country’s overall innovation agenda:

“…we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history — an investment that could lead to the world’s cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched.”

UMR appreciates the President’s unwavering support for biomedical research.   His remarks to the nation echo the commitment he has shown throughout his first year in office and his message to the National Institutes of Health in September 2009:

“Breakthroughs in medical research take far more than the occasional flash of brilliance, as important as that can be. Progress takes time; it takes hard work; it can be unpredictable; it can require a willingness to take risks and going down some blind alleys occasionally…all of this needs the support of government. It holds promise like no other area of human endeavor, but we’ve got to make a commitment to it.”

In a recent interview with Reuters, NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said that the agency will turn its attention this upcoming year to how investment in biomedical research impacts clinical science around the country.

The NIH is the single largest source of biomedical research funding in the world, and throughout its history, it has been the catalyst for academic, clinical, and private work in the field. 

According to Dr. Collins, reinforcing how this research pays off for patients will energize the research enterprise.

Read the full article here.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association  reports that the rate of increase in  research funding slowed between 2003 and 2008, and in absolute terms, the level of funding from the NIH and associated  industriesdecreased by 2% in 2008.

The authors of the study, led by neurologist Ray Dorsey M.D., used regression models and public data from 2003-2007 to quantify funding from government , private, and industry sources, and compared the data to 1994-2003. 

Among the major findings was that the rate of increase of overall U.S. research spending has slowed from a compounded annualized growth rate of 7.8 percent from 1994 to 2003 to 3.4 percent from 2003 to 2007.

Read more and view all the findings here.

During the annual Aspen Health Forum, the Hon. Dick Gephardt and the CEO of Astra-Zeneca, David Brennan, joined forces to highlight the importance of funding medical research.

Both research advocates spoke of the need for translational research (i.e. the use of basic scientific discoveries by pharmacetical companies and biotech companies) and the need for better science education. 

While Gephardt acknowledged that NIH funding was increased 8-10 years ago, he pointed out that funding has been at a steady state in the time since the increase.  It has not been adjusted for inflation or aligned with growing demands.

Gephardt also noted that the crisis of rising healthcare costs has prompted an unfortunate cut in innovation.  To combat this, he asked Members of Congress to explain to their constituents how medical research will create jobs, lower cost and lengthen lives.      

According to Brennan, if the US continues to lead the way in innovation and collaboration, then partnerships with countries like Europe and Japan will be possible and successful.   

As Gephardt said, “Medical innovation has been a hallmark of this society and needs to  continue to be. But it won’t happen automatically.  It will only happen if we make these investments, if we do some of these things in a more effective way and if we have the young talent—human talent—that really want to do this.”

To watch the full panel discussion, please visit this link.

This week the Nobel Prize was awarded to six innovative scientists for their groundbreaking work in medicine and chemistry. On the medicine front, Elizabeth H. Blackburn from University of California, San Francisco, Carol W. Greider from Johns Hopkins University and Jack W. Szostak from Harvard Medical School won for their work which uncovered how chromosomes can be copied completely during cell divisions and how they are protected against degradation. The Nobel Assembly has declared that this work is “an important piece in the puzzle [of] human ageing, cancer, and stem cells.”

In chemistry, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan from MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Cambridge, Thomas A. Steitz from Yale University and Ada E. Yonath from Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, studied how ribosomes translate DNA information into life. Their studies, the first of which dates back to the 1980s, produced breakthrough information on antibiotics that will save lives, tackle drug-resistant bacteria and decrease suffering from stubborn infections.

While these scientists have very different backgrounds and specialties, they each prove that we have reached a unique moment of in the history of life science research. The work of these great minds has opened up our understanding of the complexities of life. Now, based on their research, some of which was conducted as far back as twenty years ago, groundbreaking, life-saving clinical developments are under examination and could reach patients in the years ahead.

This morning President Barack Obama joined with Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to announce $5 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment dollars invested in the nation’s most exciting and promising life sciences projects. These projects, currently underway in every state across the country, are creating an estimated 50,000 jobs while unlocking the mysteries of some of our most stubborn diseases. The President said, these are “jobs making a difference for our future.” The Administration also prepared this video for the event:

Full remarks by the President can also be found here.