NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The National Institutes of Health spent $4.6 billion in stimulus funding on scientific research last year, more than half of the $8.2 billion it received specifically for science under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and this year it expects to spend another $3.6 billion on research, according to the Department of Health and Human Services budget for 2011.
HHS expects that in 2010 NIH will spend another roughly $5.2 billion overall in stimulus funds that were left over from ARRA's first year.
Of the $10 billion in total funding NIH received under ARRA, $8.2 billion was for research, $1 billion was for extramural lab construction and renovation, $500 million was marked for buildings and facilities expenses, and $300 million was given to the shared instrumentation program.
In 2009, only $52 million was spent for extramural lab construction and renovation, leaving $948 million to be spent in 2010. Spending on buildings and facilities in 2009 totaled $50 million, leaving $450 million to be spent this year. Meanwhile, the shared instrumentation program released $53 million in stimulus funds in 2009, leaving NIH to deploy the remaining $247 million in 2010.
HHS also received ARRA funding totaling $1.1 billion for Patient-Centered Health Research and Comparative Effectiveness, which was split three ways between NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and a general HHS fund. Of that, NIH spent $192 million of its $400 million last year, and AHRQ has spent $5 million of its $300 million. Of the remaining $400 million for patient-centered research and comparative effectiveness that was to be spread across HHS, only $2 million was spent in 2009, leaving $398 million remaining to be spent in the coming year.
The budget proposal also includes $476 million for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which would fund development of next-generation countermeasures for high priority areas such as anthrax and acute radiation syndrome. BARDA enables the Bioshield Special Reserve Fund to support procurement activities as well as advanced research and development.
The budget also calls for $302 million for pandemic influenza preparedness activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, NIH, and the Office of the Secretary for international activities, virus detection, communications, and research.