Life Sciences on the Rise: 2021 North American Report

FUNDING IS ON THE RISE Since bioscientific pursuits require significant capital investment, the development of an increasingly sophisticated funding environment has been critical to the explosion of biotechnology ventures we see today. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding has been foundational to education, training and institutionally- led biotechnology research projects and companies. More recently, private and public equity investors have increasingly become the primary source for capital, with select venture capital investment groups creating mini hubs of portfolio companies in the major cluster markets. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Government research grants are the primary source of funding for academic and medical practitioners. The grants tend to be concentrated in major medical research institutes, primarily hospitals and major universities. Regardless of which party holds office, NIH funding typically increases over time. In fact, 2020 funding saw a 12% year-over-year increase and it has grown 8.9% annually, on average, over the last five years. Although NIH funding is set in the federal budget years in advance, extra money was allocated to NIH for research during the pandemic.

Government research grants are the primary source of funding for academic and medical practitioners.

TOTAL U.S. NIH FUNDING OVER TIME

$40

2020: 12% increase YOY

$35

$30

$25

$20 Billions

Average Annual Growth Rate

1995-2020: +5.4% 2016-2020: +8.9%

$15

$10

$5

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

Source: U.S. National Institutes of Health

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