Briefing: Life Sciences Research
A Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio) report released April 3 found that an intense focus on reducing health-care spending could stymie life sciences research and development, putting both groundbreaking research and startup companies in jeopardy over the next half decade.
How much federal support is there for academic research?
Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been declining on a real-dollar basis since 2003 and fell $950 million, to $29.9 billion, as a result of last year's sequester. As the state receiving the second-highest amount of NIH grants ($2.5 billion as of 2011), Massachusetts has been hit particularly hard by the recent cuts, the report said. Success rates for research project grant applications have fallen to an all-time low, making it virtually impossible for doctoral or post-doctoral students in their late 20s or early 30s to have successful careers in academic research, according to MassBio. For this reason, the number of lab scientists is shrinking as young scholars turn more toward research with clear, practical applications. Researchers now need data to support ideas before they receive grants, pushing the average age for a first-time grant recipient up to 42.
How have drug reimbursement levels fared?
Dramatic drug reimbursement cuts to regenerative medicine products in November 2013 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had a chilling effect on the industry, MassBio said. That caused treatment centers around the country to reconsider their use of these living cell-based products, ultimately prompting Lexington-based Shire to exit the industry. Since drugs take more than a decade to progress from early planning to commercialization, investors need to be certain of a potential return on investment to justify the risk.
How has health care reform elsewhere affected research?
Cost-containment measures implemented under single-payer systems in the United Kingdom, France and Germany have made it easier to get regulatory approval than to obtain a favorable reimbursement rate, according to the report. This has resulted in life sciences venture capital largely abandoning Europe, MassBio said, with European startups looking to the United States for an opportunity. If the U.S. were to adopt a similarly aggressive stance on reimbursement levels and restrict access to new technology, it would represent the single greatest threat to life sciences innovation in the country, the report said.
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