Thanks to a frenzy of grantmaking activity during August, the National Institutes of Health looks, for the first time this year, like it might be able to spend its entire $47 billion budget before the Sept. 30 deadline. After lagging by billions of dollars throughout the spring and summer due to pauses in grant proposal evaluations, agency-wide layoffs, and new layers of political review, the NIH now appears on track to award close to the full tranche of taxpayer money appropriated by Congress.
A STAT analysis shows that as of Thursday, the amount of new and continuing NIH grants awarded this year is $31.2 billion, about $100 million ahead of the average spent by this point of the calendar year from 2016-2024.
A top official confirmed that the agency has caught up. “We’re essentially right on pace,” NIH Principal Deputy Director Matthew Memoli said Thursday morning at a meeting of an independent council that advises the NIH director on institute policies and initiatives. Memoli estimated that as of this week, the NIH is running 3% behind where it was last year at this time.
This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers
Unlock this article — plus daily intelligence on Capitol Hill and the life sciences industry — by subscribing to STAT+.
Already have an account? Log in
To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+.
Source link
