WASHINGTON (May 23, 2017) — The Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) calls on Congress to reject U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut biomedical research spending at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 18 percent as part of the administration’s proposed budget for FY2018, which was released this morning. The proposal comes less than one month after Congress passed a funding package for FY2017 that includes a $2 billion increase to NIH’s budget, $120 million of which will go toward the agency’s work on the Precision Medicine Initiative.

“The President’s ongoing desire to cut NIH’s research budget contradicts the bipartisan support the agency received as recently as earlier this month,” PMC President Edward Abrahams explained in an article published by STAT News and in The Boston Globe. “It would be a travesty for patients and the future of personalized medicine if enacted.”

After documenting a 62 percent increase since 2012 in the number of personalized medicines on the market earlier this year, the Coalition’s board has passed a resolution calling for additional investments in NIH research that would support the country’s drive toward a personalized health care system that promises to make patients healthier and the health system more efficient. The resolution calls on Congress to increase the NIH’s budget by an additional $2 billion in FY2018 and appropriate all funding for personalized medicine projects outlined in the 21st Century Cures Act.

“Consistent and sufficient funding of biomedical research provides a foundation for innovation in personalized medicine, thereby reducing the burden of disease and improving the lives of millions of Americans,” the resolution reads.

PMC resolution for increased funding of biomedical research at NIH.

(Source: PMC Coalition)

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