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New Analysis Shows Decrease in US Medical Research Investment
A new analysis published in Journal of the American Medical Association found that the United States’ investment in medical research has decreased over the years. From 1994 to 2004, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of medical research funding was 6%. From 2004 to 2012, the CAGR declined from 6% to 0.8%. Funding from the National Institutes of Health decreased from 7.3% to –1.8% from 2004 to 2012. The CAGR had been 7.3% between 1994 and 2004. Investments from private industry (including biomedical, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies) have increased funding from 46% to 58% between 1994 and 2012.
The United States placed last in a regional global ranking of investment growth from 2004 to 2011, with 1.5% CAGR. Asia saw 9.4% growth, Canada 4.5% growth, and Europe 4.1% growth. The CAGR in China was 16.9%. In 2011, 30% of global life science patents were registered by China and 24% by the United States. US funding for medical research has decreased by 13% in the global total from 2004 to 2012.
The industry funded more late-stage clinical trials than early stage research from 2004 to 2011, due in part to increasing costs, complexity, and length of clinical trials, according to the report.
Funding for health services research comprises 0.3% of US medical investments but has increased to $5 billion from 2004 to 2011 at a CAGR of 4.6%. This accounts for between $8 billion and $15 billion more for research investments in other industries. Four percent of US health funding is used for pharmaceutical and medical device research, $116 billion is allocated for research in 13% of total healthcare expenses, and $5 billion is aimed at the remaining 87% of costs.—Rosemarie Bodrucki
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