Shell game at the NIH
There are some big changes being made in the way that the government funds research. As I reported in yesterday's FierceBiotech, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni (photo) is pooling about 5 percent of the Institute's funds to support work cutting across research fields and NIH fiefdoms. But as funding at the NIH has flattened recently, various patient advocacy groups are worried that this money will be drawn at their expense. Concerns extend to the head of the NCI (below), who has fretted about the potential loss of funds at the hands of lawmakers concerned about ongoing deficits.
The need for caution in government spending is based on a clear need to start balancing the books. But the administration has been raising fears by opting to use bureaucratic techniques to shift research funds. The debate over funding needs to take place in public, with a focus on government priorities. If spending in other areas forces us to scale down research funds, that's a choice that the electorate should be informed about. Hard choices call for serious discussion. - John Carroll