National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Funding for Antibacterial Resistance Studies: 2008 and 2009

Background: The relationship between burden of disease and research funding is an important metric to consider when determining funding priorities that impact public health. In 2005, approximately 18,650 people infected with one antibiotic resistant pathogen, methicillin-resistant S. aureus, died in the U.S. [Klevens et al. JAMA 2008;299(5):519-520] This exceeded the number of U.S. deaths due to HIV/AIDS. In 2008, the NIH awarded $2.9 billion in research funding for HIV/AIDS.[NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) http://projectreporter.nih.gov]

Objective: We aimed to measure the amount of NIAID research funding for all antimicrobial resistance studies that target antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

Methods: We searched the NIH NIAID RePORT for the terms “antibiotic resistance,” “antimicrobial resistance,” and “hospital-associated” for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009. We recorded the grant title, year and total costs. All grants were classified as either bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal, prion, combination, or general (U or N-series grants).

Results: In 2 years, $536,858,694 was granted for antimicrobial resistance research. Funding increased by 8% from $246,021,675 in FY2008 to $290,837,019 in FY2009. Among all antimicrobial resistance research, the microbe funding was as follows: 54% bacterial, 31% viral, 7.5% general, 5.5% parasitic, 1.6% fungal, 1.4% combination and <1% prion. Of the $294,050,501 spent on bacterial research, 47% ($138,704,598) was granted in FY2008 and 53% ($155,345,903) in FY2009.

Conclusions: Antibacterial resistance funding represents approximately one-half of all NIAID-funded antimicrobial resistance research. Given the current US and worldwide impact of antibacterial resistance, current funding is likely low compared to overall disease burden.  Future estimates of increasing antibacterial resistance and lack of available new antibacterial agents in the pipeline suggest that funding in this area will be a top priority.