NIH funding delivers exponential economic returns

A new report from the nonprofit United for Medical Research (UMR) shows that every dollar of research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) delivers $2.56 in economic activity, a multiplier effect that extends the agency’s impact as the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.

In fiscal year 2024, the report found, the agency awarded more than $36.9 billion to researchers, supporting more than 408,000 jobs and generating over $94.5 billion in new economic activity nationwide. The funding supports a broad range of institutions in states across the nation, including academic research centers, private companies, startups, and advocacy organizations.

The 2025 update noted NIH-funded research has improved patient health; boosted job creation directly and indirectly; supported the purchase of research-related goods and services; and produced spin-out companies that drive tax revenue and attract innovation-intensive businesses. The new report arrives amid growing concerns over future funding levels for the federal agency.

By fueling basic scientific research, the NIH helps the U.S. maintain its position as a leader in the global life sciences, medtech, and biopharmaceutical industries. Forty-six percent of all basic research in the nation is conducted at academic research institutions, and most of that work is funded by the federal government, according to UMR, a coalition of leading industry groups and research institutions, including Harvard University.

At Harvard, NIH funding supported the development of an AI tool called Clinical Histopathology Imaging Evaluation Foundation, or CHIEF, which made huge strides in diagnosing cancer and guiding treatment. Other NIH-funded projects include developing a procedure to repair once-untreatable eye damage; creating a new class of antibiotics to combat drug-resistant infections; finding new ways to fight depression; and deepening our understanding of neurodegenerative disease, among other projects.

The UMR findings come in the wake of a 2023 report showing the exponential economic impact of research funding in rural states. In the nation’s seven most rural states, NIH funding generates an average return of $2.30 for every dollar invested and supports an average of 2,300 jobs and $353 million in new economic activity per state.

That research also yielded important regional benefits. West Virginia has the nation’s highest overdose rate and suffered numerous outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C in recent years, issues that have overlap owing to their links to hypodermic needles and other drug paraphernalia. West Virginia University researcher Judith Feinberg has used NIH funding to integrate care for substance use disorder and infectious diseases in local health centers.

“NIH research happens everywhere,” said UMR President Caitlin Leach. “Whether you are from a red state or blue state, there are very real economic benefits to your state because researchers there receive NIH grants. That NIH research funding saves lives and fuels local economies throughout the United States is a very powerful message.”

NIH funding, in fact, historically has been a bipartisan priority. The agency’s budget has grown by more than $17 billion since fiscal year 2015. UMR warned that a constrained NIH budget in fiscal year 2025 and beyond could decrease the agency’s effectiveness and potentially undermine the nation’s dominance in biomedical innovation and as a hub for training the next generation of scientists, physicians, entrepreneurs, and educators.