MichBio Joins National Effort Urging OMB To Revise Federal Research Funding Proposal
Earlier this month, BioLink highlighted the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) proposed revisions to its Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance and the potential implications for America's research enterprise. Since then, MichBio formally submitted comments urging the Administration to substantially revise the proposal while preserving appropriate accountability and fiscal oversight.
In its comments, MichBio expressed concern that several provisions would grant federal agencies broad discretion to terminate research awards based on subjective determinations that continued funding is "in the interest of the Federal agency" or "no longer in the Federal Government's interests." Such authority, if left undefined, could introduce significant uncertainty into the nation's research ecosystem, discourage private investment, and undermine the long-term partnerships that have made the United States the global leader in life sciences innovation.
MichBio's letter emphasizes that Michigan's biosciences sector - comprising nearly 48,000 highly skilled employees and more than 3,300 organizations - depends heavily on stable federal partnerships through agencies such as NIH, NSF, ARPA-H, BARDA, DoD, DOE, and USDA. The comments also highlight Michigan success stories including HistoSonics, Akadeum Life Sciences, Accuri Cytometers, and Tetra Therapeutics, all of which leveraged federally supported research and commercialization programs to bring transformative technologies to patients and the marketplace.
Drawing on decades of experience serving as an NIH and SBIR/STTR scientific peer reviewer, MichBio President & CEO Stephen Rapundalo underscored the importance of preserving the integrity of the federal merit-based peer review system. The comments argue that researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and patients all rely on confidence that research awards will be evaluated - and administered - through objective, transparent, and predictable processes.
MichBio's concerns echo those raised by a growing coalition of national stakeholders. The Bayh-Dole Coalition warned that the proposed rule could politicize federally funded research, weaken commercialization efforts enabled by the Bayh-Dole Act, and erode America's competitive advantage at a time of increasing global competition, particularly from China. The Coalition (of which MichBio is a member) urged OMB to renew its commitment to protecting the nation's innovation ecosystem and avoid creating new barriers to research and technology transfer.
The proposal has also drawn bipartisan attention on Capitol Hill. Senator Susan Collins and other congressional leaders have called on OMB to withdraw or significantly revise the rule, citing concerns that broad termination authority could disrupt critical biomedical research, undermine public-private partnerships, and diminish the return on decades of federal investment in scientific discovery.
MichBio will continue working alongside national partners (we’re a signatory to No Patient Left Behind’s letter opposing the proposed OMB rule) to advocate for policies that preserve scientific excellence, objective peer review, and a predictable research environment - ensuring that federally funded discoveries can continue to evolve into the next generation of medicines, medical technologies, diagnostics, and advanced manufacturing innovations that improve lives while strengthening Michigan's and America's innovation economy.
