DATE:
June 3, 2025
20
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECTTitle
SUPPORTING SAN DIEGO'S BIOMEDICAL SECTOR: ADDRESSING RECENT CHALLENGES TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
San Diego's biomedical community is on the frontlines of saving lives, fighting diseases, and pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the beating heart of that work - pumping over $1 billion into hundreds of San Diego labs, hospitals, and startups annually. Those dollars don't just fund research projects; they fund life-changing breakthroughs, train the next generation of scientists, and power the local economy. Today, that lifeline is at risk.
The NIH supports scientific and commercial advancements that drive San Diego's $57 billion biomedical sector and improve human health. NIH grants keep paychecks coming, labs running, the lights on, and families fed. They turn an entrepreneur's great idea into a signed lease for a local realtor and purchases for local vendors. Every NIH dollar attracts an additional $3 to $4 in private investment, drawing top talent to our region and cementing San Diego's reputation as a premier biomedical innovation destination. However, the current restructuring at the NIH has already forced layoffs, leaving lab techs scrambling to pay rent and students rethinking their futures in science. For the patients enrolled in clinical trials, it could mean drug trials being abruptly stalled and treatments that don't come through in time.
Right now, the current federal administration is:
* Proposing a 40% cut to the NIH budget, which would mean $18 billion less in biomedical research funding for discoveries, treatments and cures that save lives.
* Capping federal investment in facilities and administration costs for research institutions, breaking the decades long partnership between the federal government and universities to fund biomedical science and jeopardizing the ability of San Di...
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