A recent op-ed in STAT by Kevin Gardner and Michael Kinch from Stony Brook University emphasizes the significant role U.S. universities play in drug innovation. Their research indicates that academic institutions, particularly in the United States, are increasingly responsible for drug patents linked to FDA-approved treatments. This underscores the importance of continued investment in university-driven innovation.
Gardner, vice president for research and innovation, and Kinch, chief innovation officer, present findings from their study on FDA-approved drugs. They report that American universities contributed essential patents to half of all drugs approved between 2020 and 2024, with U.S. institutions making up 87 percent of these academic discoveries.
“These new findings have profound implications,” they write, highlighting the reliance on U.S. academic research for life-saving therapies. “Behind nearly every prescription filled in America lies a powerful engine of innovation, fueled by the research conducted within the nation’s universities.”
The authors trace this contribution back to postwar policies initiated by Vannevar Bush, which promoted federal investment in basic research and laid the foundation for America's leadership in biotechnology. However, Gardner and Kinch warn that this leadership is threatened by global competitors like China and domestic underinvestment.
They cite past studies showing over 90 percent of new medicines originate from NIH-funded academic research as evidence of public investment's benefits but express concern over a Nature poll where 75 percent of U.S.-based scientists considered leaving the country.
“Were the nation to allow its academic enterprise to wither,” they caution, “decisions about which diseases to treat and which therapies to develop will be made elsewhere.”
Gardner and Kinch stress that maintaining federal support for university research is crucial for future medical advancements and economic stability.
Read the STAT op-ed.