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Report warns of consequences of shrinking medical research funding

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 12, 2012

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Recent reductions in federal funding for medical research compromise the nation’s ability to capitalize on its scientific resources at a time when other countries are taking major strides to advance their research capabilities, says an Oct. 25 report by Research!America, a nonprofit that advocates for medical advancements through research.

Federal spending on medical research and development fell by $6.4 million from 2010 to $39.5 billion in 2011. Further reductions are expected under across-the-board cuts set to take effect in January 2013 under the Budget Control Act. Those cuts would reduce biomedical and health research funding by 8% to 10% and mean a loss of an estimated $2.53 billion in 2013 for the National Institutes of Health, the report said (link).

“Federal policymakers must make tough decisions to bring the federal deficit under control,” the report said. “However, divesting from biomedical and health research — and the infrastructure and expertise needed to conduct it — would contravene the very goal it is intended to advance.”

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/11/12/prbf1112.htm.

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