Wikimedia, Argonne National LaboratoryThe amount of total money spent on biomedical and health research fell by $4 billion, or 3 percent, between 2010 and 2011, mostly due to large budget cuts from federal sources, with a total budget of around $136 billion, according to the 2011 U.S. Investment in Health Research report, released by Research!America yesterday (October 25). Pending budget cuts as a result of sequestration threaten to knockdown research spending by up to another 10 percent—or $13.6 billion dollars—in 2013.
“Insufficient funding, coupled with deep budget cuts under sequestration, could be devastating for research,” Research!America’s chair John E. Porter said in a press release. “Our global competitiveness hinges on a robust investment that will support bright scientific minds, create high-quality jobs and provide a catalyst for private sector innovation.”
The report found that the federal government contributed $39.5 billion in research funding last year, down 14 percent from the previous year’s $45.9 billion. Meanwhile, private industry funding increased by 1.4 percent from 2010, up to $77.6 billion in 2011, and university funding increased by 6 percent, up to $11.9 billion.
In contrast, the report points out that China has pledged to invest $308.5 billion in biotechnology research over the next 5 years. “As R&D spending ...
