Trump’s NIH funding cuts and freezes raise concerns for US biotech sector

The US President Donald Trump began his second term with a series of directives targeting the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), creating uncertainty around NIH grant funding for biopharmaceutical drug development.

With over $1.4 billion in NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants involving innovator drugs awarded between 2020 and 2024, the funding cuts and freezes could hamper biopharmaceutical innovation and limit patient access to drugs, reveals pharma analytics company GlobalData.

The US NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research globally, providing federal government funding to US-based early-stage small businesses through its SBIR and STTR programs to drive innovation with a focus on commercialization.