Report credits federal research with creating 432,000 jobs last year

Funding from the National Institutes of Health supported more than 432,000 jobs and generated more than $62.1 billion in economic activity last year, according to a new state-by-state report from a coalition of groups that seeks increased funding for NIH.

President Obama last month proposed flat-funding NIH at last year's level, $31.7 billion. The new report from United for Medical Research points out that NIH is the largest funder of life-sciences research in the country, leading to "better medicines, procedures, treatments, equipment and delivery systems to prevent and cure disease" while "helping maintain American competitiveness."

"The findings in this report underscore, once again, that funding for basic biomedical research is vital to our national economy," coalition President Carrie Wolinetz said in a statement. 

"Not only does NIH funding contribute directly to life-saving treatments and medical breakthroughs, it also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. We urge Congress to continue to provide the NIH with the necessary resources to continue to fuel our economy and unlock new treatments and cures for patients in need."

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