UW, Biohealth Industry Sound Alarm on NIH Research Fund Cuts

Frederica Freyberg:
Anticipated fallout from any lapse in federal health research funding prompted full-on response this week from UW leaders and scientists. UW-Madison alone stands to lose $65 million in funding due to a Trump administration reduction for indirect costs. While a federal judge has temporarily blocked the NIH cuts, Wisconsin’s biohealth industry and its health systems are sounding the alarm about any permanent loss of research funding.

Jay Rothman:
Universities across Wisconsin receive research funding from the federal government to work to the betterment of our people and our communities. Taking a meat cleaver to this funding is simply wrong, shortsighted, and will cause harm to people across the state of Wisconsin and the country. Our university research lab should be a hub of activity, humming to provide life-saving research that families can count upon. This impacts all of us.

Karyn Frick:
My own NIH funded research has led to the development of new therapies for reducing memory loss, alleviating hot flashes, and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which we hope will reach the clinic in the next 5 to 10 years. If you remember one thing from my remarks today, it’s that federal funding for basic and clinical research is critical for training the next generation of scientists and health professionals while developing new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, addiction, as well as conditions such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, which are among the leading causes of death in the United States. Simply put, these desperately needed treatments would not be possible without NIH funding.

Nicolas Paris:
Biohealth industry in Wisconsin, it’s a national leader driving innovation and economic growth, but also contributing, of course, to health outcomes. We had plenty of examples today. It’s a very wide ecosystem with notably biomedical research and testing, digital health, drug and pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and a lot of manufacturing that goes with that distribution so it’s a whole big ecosystem. At BioForward, when we talk about growing Wisconsin’s biohealth industry, we are talking about a collaborative effort between industry leaders, research institutions, of course, and policymakers. Our state’s institutions, like UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, Medical College of Wisconsin, and all the others play a critical role in advancing groundbreaking medical research. … NIH investment brought $654 million to Wisconsin in 2023, and thousands of direct jobs and generate billions in economic activity for the state. These funds from NIH don’t just drive research. They attract biotech companies, venture capital. They attract top scientists and talents to the state. They drive manufacturing. They drive services, and even more. So if there’s no research, there are no discoveries, no treatments, no new fast-growing companies, and no ecosystem to support them. So there’s no doubt that reducing NIH funding would be a direct threat for us in Wisconsin.