U.S. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia led 89 of his colleagues in decrying attacks on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that endanger vitally important medical research.
In late January, the NIH cancelled meetings after being told to do so pending a review by President Donald Trump. The largest public funder of medical research, the NIH funds more than $40 billion each year. A pause on NIH activity would affect clinical trials and research for cancer and Alzheimer’s.
In a letter to Acting Director of the NIH Matthew Memoli, the members argue that the multitude of Trump directives is creating uncertainty that affects funding, researcher employment, pausing any new studies or preprinting of research that could be critical to saving lives.
“No one should have their clinical trial, or research critical to a cure delayed or suspended because of politics. We are deeply concerned by the effort to shut down public-facing work at the NIH, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support,” the letter said.
Purchasing orders to outside suppliers have already been disrupted.
“We are also concerned about any freeze of funding for NIH, which could hamper key clinical trials, research designed to secure cures, infrastructure needed to support research and clinical trials, and researchers and necessary support staff,” the letter said.
Across the United States, the NIH organizes scientists at academic institutions into “study sections” to determine important areas for research. Disruptions in such meetings “could delay critical research and interrupt grant funding.” Delays of clinical trials could impact development of new treatments, which is a concern for Alzheimer’s patients.
“Uncertainty in funding can also have career-altering consequences, particularly for young scientists, who could leave the field or go abroad. his is a time when we want to attract the best talent and not lose it to China, Germany or Canada. It is imperative that you restore funding, meetings and study sections to ensure delays don’t negatively impact research. We also strongly urge you to provide an exemption from the federal hiring freeze to ensure clinical trials and critical research is not delayed or unable to be done through lack of staff,” the letter said.
The lawmakers asked that guidance for trials be restored to include diverse populations, “because this is mission critical for the future of science and its impacts on the American public.”
“We are further concerned that your additional guidance not only failed to resolve these concerns, but continues them. The NIH is mission critical. Every day that no new studies are being launched, no preprinting, no procurement or contracting for new studies, equipment or research means one less cure or clinical trial that could save someone’s life.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
