$100 billion per year rat hole?

My former Boston Consulting Group colleagues Dr. Hamilton Moses III (a.k.a., Chip) and Dave Matheson have an article in JAMA (Financial Anatomy of Biomedical Research) analyzing spending on medical research. Key findings:

• Spending has doubled to $94 billion per year in the last decade
• A larger share should be allocated to diseases with few treatments, such as Alzheimer's
• More effort should be made to translate basic research into new treatments
• Private industry sponsors 57 of research and the NIH 28 percent, a ratio that's stayed constant over time

I've previously described some opportunities to improve the medical research environment:

• The Myelin Repair Foundation is focused on establishing true, cross-functional collaboration to quickly translate research into useful treatments. (See Research funding levels are only part of the story)
• The NIH needs to change how it operates so that it funds innovation rather than paying for what's already been proven. (See NIH retards innovation)