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The nation spent approximately $116 billion last year on research to findnew ways to treat, cure, and prevent disease and disability. This represents adecrease relative to total health costs. For every dollar spent on healthoverall, 5.5 cents went to research in 2006, the smallest portion since 2001.This decline continues a trend that started in 2005, following a flattening infederal research spending that began in 2004.
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"The importance of federal research investment in priming the pipeline forother sources of research funding cannot be underestimated," said theHonorable John Edward Porter, chair of Research!America. "The U.S.government's contributions to basic science have made our nation the worldleader in medical and scientific discovery -- a position at risk if federalfunding does not keep pace at least with biomedical inflation."
The Research!America report, "2006 Investment in U.S. Health Research,"finds that spending by sector on health-related research was flat or rose justslightly from 2005:
"With an aging generation of baby boomers, new health challenges linked toglobalization, and an obesity epidemic, we cannot afford to let this trendcontinue," said Mary Woolley, president of Research!America. "Americans seescience as important to our health, competitiveness, education system, andstandard of living -- our nation's leaders need to fund research accordingly."
The report was compiled by Stacie Propst, PhD, senior director of sciencepolicy, and Emily Connelly, manager of science policy, for Research!America.
Research!America is the nation's largest not-for-profit public educationand advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a highernational priority. Founded in 1989, it is supported by more than 500 memberorganizations, which represent more than 125 million Americans.
Ms. Woolley and Dr. Propst are available for further comment.-- The combined health research budgets of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies were essentially flat from 2005 to 2006, maintaining a trend that began in 2004. -- In 2006, the largest federal agency that funds health-related research, the NIH, saw its budget remain flat for the third year in a row, at $28.5 billion. -- Industry R&D spending, which has for several years exceeded federal sources, increased only slightly from $61 billion in 2005 to $64.5 billion in 2006. However, this growth is overshadowed by the fact that a leveling out of public funding has in the past led to a leveling out of private funding. -- Health research funded by universities, independent research institutes, voluntary health associations, foundations and state and local governments combined remained nearly flat between 2005 and 2006, at $13.7 billion in 2006 and almost $13 billion in 2005.
SOURCE Research!America
