Biomedical research is under threat. Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen new directives and actions from the current Administration and Congress that threaten to halt progress in finding new therapies and potential cures for neuromuscular conditions. These threats include:- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced a major reduction in funding indirect costs in grants, which would have a catastrophic impact on research, especially in the neuromuscular disease field.
- Impediments to grant funding reaching recipients due to canceled meetings, prohibition on technology transfers, and more
- Cuts to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), which funds high-risk, high-reward research for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and other neuromuscular conditions.
- And more.
Taken together, these delays and cuts would be disastrous for biomedical research. If fully implemented, current research will stop, clinical trials will shut down, and research staff will be let go. As we sit on the cusp of genetic medicine breakthroughs for many neuromuscular diseases, these cuts are all the more unacceptable.
Tell your members of Congress to oppose these cuts now!
