Rochester Chamber joins state Business Council opposing NIH grant funding reductions 

More organizations across the state are voicing concerns over the National Institute of Health’s decision to reduce funding to research institutions and universities for indirect costs. They say the action could result in more than $50 million in one-year cuts to local universities and health systems.

The New York State Business Council, the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and more than a dozen chambers from across the country have signed a letter to New York’s Congressional Delegation asking them to oppose such cuts.

They said the new cap of 15 percent would create significant shortfalls for NIH-sponsored research institutions and universities across the state.

“As the second largest recipient of NIH funding, New York’s research institutions are at the heart of biomedical and health care innovations, particularly in academic medical centers and cancer research facilities,” wrote Heather Mulligan, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State. “These entities are crucial for the continued development of cutting-edge therapies and treatments.”

She noted that the Greater New York Hospital Association has estimated that implementing the funding cap could lead to a loss of up to $850 million in state research funding, which would be “a blow that would undermine New York’s economic growth, its medical innovations and its capacity to support a healthy workforce.”

The letter was signed by chamber leaders across the state, including Robert Duffy, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

The local chamber said the action would result in one-year funding cuts totaling $10 million for Rochester Institute of Technology and $1 million for Rochester Regional Health.

For the University of Rochester, the cuts would mean a loss of $40 million per year, which is directly tied to 3,000 biomedical researchers at the university who would be at risk of losing their jobs, a chamber spokesperson said.  

Additionally, NIH dollars at UR previously leveraged for dozens of industry and private sector sponsors helped with more than 150 clinical trials at UR’s Department of Neurology. 

The research yielded 10 FDA approved therapies to treat diseases like Huntington’s and Parkinson’s, the spokesperson said.  

The group’s concerns echo those last month made by leaders from UR and U.S. Congressman Joe Morelle (D-25), who led a bipartisan and bicameral group of New York Congressional colleagues in sending a letter to NIH criticizing the decision.

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