Trump’s Proposed NIH Cuts Could Halt dozens of Life-Saving Drugs, Experts Warn
Washington D.C. – A drastic proposal by the Trump management to slash funding for the national Institutes of health (NIH) by a staggering 40% could prevent the advancement of dozens of groundbreaking medications, perhaps halting life-changing treatments for patients and jeopardizing America’s global leadership in medical innovation.
Former federal health officials and lawmakers are sounding the alarm, citing a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that paints a grim picture of the potential fallout from thes proposed budget cuts. Experts warn that the impact could be far more severe than even the CBO’s conservative estimates suggest.
“The lost drugs” resulting from these cuts are likely to be the novel “first in class” drugs – the pioneering treatments that have the potential to fundamentally transform healthcare and substantially improve patient lives, according to Jeremy Berg, a former director of the National institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH.
The CBO’s analysis indicates that even a modest 10% reduction in the NIH budget could halt the development of an estimated 30 new medications over the next three decades. A cut to the agency’s external preclinical research would directly translate to a roughly 4.5% decrease in new drugs coming to market,equating to about two fewer drugs per year,with the impact escalating over time.
The proposed cuts also extend to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One proposal would reduce staff, leading to an estimated nine-month increase in review times for new medications. By the second decade of such a policy, the CBO projects 10 fewer drugs would be approved each decade, a 2% reduction, ultimately preventing 23 new medications from reaching patients. This comes at a time when the FDA’s workforce has already seen a meaningful reduction of approximately 15%, with 3,500 jobs lost or vacated.
Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), along with Sens. bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.),emphasized that the CBO’s findings likely underestimate the true impact. They pointed out that the CBO’s analysis focused on a 10% cut, not the full 40% proposed by the administration.
“The proposed cuts are so enormous that CBO’s own model is unable to produce an estimate,” the lawmakers stated in a joint press release. “The United States leads the world in medical innovation becuase of our continued investments in research and development at the NIH. Every $1 invested in NIH research returns $2.50 to the U.S. economy. This unprecedented assault on our healthcare institutions by the Trump administration will cut off access to medicines that patients are waiting for, cede our global leadership in medical innovation to China, and cause wide-ranging harms to our nation’s economy.”
The potential consequences of these proposed cuts are dire,threatening to stifle medical progress,limit patient access to vital treatments,and undermine the United States’ position as a global leader in scientific discovery.
What you Can Do:
contact your elected officials: Urge your representatives in Congress to oppose the proposed cuts to the NIH and FDA budgets. Stay informed: Follow reputable news sources for updates on this critical issue.
* Support medical research: Consider donating to organizations that fund medical research and advocate for robust scientific investment.