Recent Funding Challenges: Know the Facts

Keeping you informed about recent changes and challenges affecting public funding for cancer research in the United States. 

As of March 10^th, 2025  

For over 25 years, the Lustgarten Foundation has been a catalyst for science, funding pancreatic cancer research that has been a driving force in every major advancement since 1998. We have invested over $287.2 million—generously contributed by individuals, corporations, and foundations—to lead research, invigorate the field, and ignite a new era of progress. While our organizational model relies on private funding to support high-risk, high-reward science, public funding—government resources allocated to essential services and programs—remains vital for establishing the groundwork and sustaining the institutions where life-saving pancreatic cancer research is happening. Progress in pancreatic cancer research is accelerating, but there is more work to be done. Continued support of research is key to transforming today’s progress into real impact for patients. Maintaining a balance of private and public funding is indispensable to ensuring a continuous and effective research pipeline.  

HISTORICAL SUPPORT FOR PANCREATIC CANCER
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest source of government funding dedicated to advancing health research, operates with an annual budget of nearly $48 billion. Each year, the NIH has increased pancreatic cancer funding, recognizing the disease’s urgent threat and the need for improved patient outcomes. For example, NIH funding for pancreatic cancer increased from $230 million in 2020 to an estimated $286 million in 2024, supporting 740 projects in Fiscal Year 2023. Funding for pancreatic cancer research is primarily awarded through the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the 27 agencies and organizations that comprise the NIH. The NCI is the world’s largest funder of cancer research and supports basic and clinical research at universities, hospitals, and other institutions. NCI funding for pancreatic cancer research supports all of Lustgarten’s priority areas: early detection, therapeutic development, and personalized medicine. This includes, but is not limited to, initiatives like the Early Detection Research Network, the Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium, Pancreas SPORE grants, and the Cancer of the Pancreas Screening (CAPS) program.  

FUNDING CHANGES: WHAT IT MEANS
Beginning January 20, 2025, U.S. administration has enacted significant changes to NIH funding that impact cancer research throughout the country:  

• January 21^st, NIH review meetings, staff travel, and external communications were suspended. 
  *UPDATE – despite the initial directive’s expiration on February 1, 2025, certain restrictions persist. Notably, NIH staff are still prohibited from submitting meeting notices to the Federal Register, preventing the scheduling of essential review meetings. This continued blockade has led to a standstill in grant approvals and other critical NIH operations.   
• January 27^th, NIH halted payments on all federal grant programs. 
  *UPDATE – despite these legal interventions, the initial directive caused considerable uncertainty and disruption across various sectors reliant on federal grants, particularly in scientific research and public health initiatives.  
• February 7^th, NIH capped indirect costs at 15%, cutting approximately $4 billion per year. (Indirect costs cover essential expenses required for research, including facilities, administrative and regulatory costs, and common equipment.) 
  *UPDATE – the proposed cap faced immediate opposition from research institutions and state governments. On February 10, 2025, a federal judge in Boston issued a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of the cap, citing potential harm to research institutions and public health efforts. This injunction was extended on February 21, 2025, pending a final ruling. While legal actions have temporarily halted the NIH’s proposed funding cap, the ongoing uncertainty continues to disrupt cancer research efforts nationwide.  
• February 15^th, NIH fired nearly 1,200 employees in an initial and sweeping wave of health-related staff cuts.  

While existing NIH grants are continuing and the proposed cuts noted above are being challenged in the courts, changes at the NIH have had a chilling effect on new research funding.  Compared to 2024, the NIH has approved roughly $1 billion less in new grants so far in 2025 ($2.5 billion in 2024 vs. $1.4 billion in 2025, comparing the first six weeks of each year respectively). These cuts are just the beginning – additional changes have been proposed that would radically alter the organization of the NIH and how research funding is administered in the United States. More broadly, changes in the priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the NIH and other health-related programs (including CDC, Medicare, and Medicaid) will impact clinical cancer research.

 “Strong Federal support for research created the infrastructure that makes the United States a leader in biomedical innovation. Reductions in funding from the NIH will decrease innovation and slow progress.” said Andrew Rakeman, VP of Research at the Lustgarten Foundation. “Even short-term uncertainty puts specific types of research in jeopardy. Early-career scientists with bold ideas, high-risk, high-reward projects, and research in underfunded areas are most at risk—yet these are the types of research that have historically led to groundbreaking discoveries in pancreatic cancer.”  

As public funding outlooks remain unpredictable, particularly for rare diseases regardless of their lethality, private financing has never been more crucial. While we continue to advocate for the full restoration of NIH funding, we remain steadfast in our mission to transform pancreatic cancer into a curable disease by investing in cutting-edge research, made possible by our dedicated community. “These are the times private foundation funding is paramount,” said Linda Tantawi, CEO of the Lustgarten Foundation. “We hope to be a beacon of light amid these devastating policy changes for pancreatic cancer researchers and scientists, inspiring hope for patients and their families that progress is on the horizon.”  

WE ARE NOT DISCOURAGED
When the Lustgarten Foundation was founded, the NCI allocated only about $17 million or .6% of its annual budget to pancreatic cancer research. Over time, Lustgarten’s support of pancreatic cancer research has helped stimulate the NCI to increase its pancreatic cancer research funding to approximately $226.8 million in 2022 or 3.3% of its annual budget, contributing to the 5-year relative survival rate for all stages tripling from less than 4% to 13%. Today, thousands of researchers from various disciplines work on scientific breakthroughs that promise better outcomes for those diagnosed with this challenging disease. We will not stop until we realize our vision of a future with pancreatic cancer cures.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
We encourage our community to join the movement to preserve critical research funding. Biomedical research is the foundation of our collective understanding and efforts to improve human health and disease. With continued upheaval around federal funding of research throughout the country, YOU can take action. Please consider contacting your representative in Washington DC and sharing your story and/or why funding research is important to you.