Boston leads the Nation in NIH funding for a 19th consecutive year

A new report produced by the Research Division of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) shows that Boston once again led the nation’s cities as the top recipient of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal year 2013. 47 hospitals, educational institutions, organizations, and companies in Boston received 3,626 awards from NIH last fiscal year, totaling $1.72 billion of investment.

Eight institutions in particular, which garnered over $100 million in NIH funding, combined to help ensure that Boston remained a powerhouse in medical research. This list of standouts includes Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Children’s Hospital Corporation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University School of Public Health, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Boston University School of Medicine. Since 1992, Boston has received over $28.7 billion in NIH funding.

“I’m extremely proud of our city’s continued success in attracting these very competitive funds over the last two decades,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said. “Our ability to achieve year after year is a testament to the incredible mix of talent and resources that Boston possesses.”

Hospitals in Boston received the vast majority of awards, taking in over $1.1 billion or nearly 65% of the city’s total NIH funding in FY13. Academic institutions, which received over $529 million or 30.7% of the funding, were the next leading category of award recipients.  Research institutes, non-profits, and for-profit companies took in the remaining share.

New York City, which received about $320 million less in NIH funding last fiscal year, ranked second among cities nationally.  Seattle, San Diego, and Philadelphia round out the list of the top five cities. 

A full copy of the report is available on the BRA’s website.

The report’s release comes as representatives from the newly formed Life Sciences Corridor, which consists of Boston, Cambridge, Quincy, Somerville, and Braintree, arrive in San Diego for the 2014 BIO International Convention. Created in May by Mayors Martin J. Walsh, David Maher, Thomas Koch, Joseph Curtatone, and Joseph C. Sullivan, the partnership is focused on promoting the robust life sciences sector that exists along the MBTA’s Red Line, home to over 450 life sciences companies, a highly skilled labor force, and world-renowned medical and academic institutions.

“What’s even more exciting than any individual accolade is the advantage we’ll be able to harness through the Life Sciences Corridor partnership,” Mayor Walsh said. “Competition in this sector plays out on a global scale, and we stand a better chance at winning as a region when we work together.”

In FY13, cities within the Life Sciences Corridor received an impressive amount of NIH funding, with 4,169 awards totaling over $2 billion worth of investment. This figure represents over 85% of NIH funding awarded in Massachusetts during the time.

Companies within the Life Sciences Corridor are also able to take advantage of funding opportunities available through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a ten-year, $1 billion investment initiative launched by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008.

John Barros, Mayor Walsh’s Chief of Economic Development, is leading the Boston delegation at this week’s convention in San Diego.  Chief Barros will be speaking about the Life Sciences Corridor at an event on Wednesdaywith conference goers.  Along with colleagues from the four neighboring cities that comprise the corridor partnership, the group hopes to attract new business to the greater Boston area, while retaining existing businesses within the region and promoting collaboration among area institutions and companies.

Boston hosted the BIO International Convention in 2012 and 2007.