Washington: The US company overseeing medical research has introduced a significant cut in funding to universities and research facilities, a transfer strongly condemned by scientists and lecturers who say work on most cancers and different illnesses will undergo.
The Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH) mentioned late Friday it was setting a 15 p.c restrict on its funding of “oblique,” or overhead, prices linked to research.
That represents a dramatic drop, amounting to billions of {dollars}, from the oblique billings of as much as 60 p.c now charged by some organizations, the company mentioned.
“This modification will save greater than $4B a 12 months efficient instantly,” the official NIH account mentioned on X. It mentioned it was “very important to make sure that as many funds as attainable go towards direct scientific research prices.”
The bills being focused embody upkeep, tools and administrative prices at research laboratories.
The cut may have an effect on research on illnesses like most cancers and neurodegenerative circumstances like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s illnesses, scientists mentioned.
“This can be a surefire strategy to cripple lifesaving research and innovation,” Matt Owens, president of COGR, which represents research institutes and college medical facilities, mentioned in an announcement to AFP.
“America’s rivals will relish this self-inflicted wound,” he mentioned, including, “We urge NIH leaders to rescind this harmful coverage earlier than its harms are felt by Individuals.”
Jeffrey Flier, former dean of the Harvard College medical school, mentioned on X that the strategy by President Donald Trump’s administration “was designed to not enhance the method, however to hurt establishments, researchers and biomed research.”
He mentioned it might “trigger chaos and hurt biomedical research and researchers.”
Scientists have expressed concern in current weeks on the lack of transparency as the brand new administration removes reams of epidemiological information from well being-associated authorities web sites.
The NIH announcement was saluted by Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump advisor main an effort to drastically trim federal spending.
Some Republican lawmakers additionally welcomed the measure, which is more likely to have its biggest influence on prestigious research universities like Harvard, Yale and Johns Hopkins.
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