Congress faces a January 2, 2013, deadline to deliver on $1.2 trillion in promised spending cuts over the next decade or else see that much cut across the board including from biopharma-focused federal agencies including NIH, NSF, CDC, and FDA. While CBO has estimated the cut will slice 7.8% from agency budgets, other groups have pegged the impact higher. FASEB projects it could reach the low double-digits. NIH has projected the 7.8% cut would result in 2,300 fewer grants, while an analysis last year predicted NSF would fund nearly 1,500 fewer research and education grants as a result. Partisan squabbling continues, and until the political impasse is resolved—and that’s not expected until after Election Day—the biopharma research community faces the prospect of fewer grants, fewer decisions on new drugs, and less activity overall stemming from across-the-board cuts in the budgets of federal agencies.
Poll Question:
How confident are you that Congress can head off sequestration?
Very
7
Somewhat
14
Not Very
72
Undecided
5