From ITIF:
Early-stage research is crucial for driving innovation and maintaining global competitiveness, even when its commercial viability is not immediately apparent. Take, for example, the immensely successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which pioneered early innovations for common technologies including GPS, weather satellites, and even Siri in our iPhones. Many of the everyday innovations we rely on exist in part because of publicly funded, high-risk, high-cost efforts. This is especially true in the biopharmaceutical sector.
Public investment helps fill the gap in the industry created by market uncertainty and high costs by supporting the foundational science that sparks breakthroughs, results in life-saving therapies, and boosts national competitiveness. Federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) play an essential role in funding this vital early-stage research.
Federal investment in the life sciences is also critical for stimulating private sector investment. A comprehensive review of academic studies found substantial evidence of the public sector’s impact on biopharmaceutical innovation, estimating that the ROI from public funding for biomedical research could reach 30 percent annually, measured solely on its impact on private sector research and development (R&D).
Full story: How Early-Stage Science Drives Medical Innovation | ITIF
