A 15% cap on indirect cost reimbursement that was announced by the U.S. NIH has been stalled by a court order for the time being. But researchers remain deeply concerned about the attempt, and about the new administration’s adversarial approach to research and universities.

Coming as no surprise, the U.S. Senate’s Feb. 13 confirmation of Robert Kennedy as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did nothing to ease the uncertainty hanging over the FDA and other HHS agencies.

The BioWorld Cancer Index (BCI) experienced a steep decline in 2024, closing the year down 17.32%. After peaking in late February with an 11.16% gain, the index steadily trended downward, with only brief recoveries that failed to push it back into positive territory. This marked a sharp contrast to 2023, when the BCI soared 76.26% by year-end. In comparison, 2022 saw the index drop by 41.98%, while 2021 closed with a decline of 36.34%.

For the pharmaceutical industry caught in the crosshairs of a potential trade war, the consequences of U.S. tariffs on China or Europe remain largely speculative, although both would be detrimental, according to a Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBIO) issue briefing Feb. 7.

Biopharma companies secured $5.91 billion across 93 transactions in January 2025, a continuing upward swing from $4.69 billion in December and $3.6 billion in November 2024.

“This current administration is like nothing that we've seen before,” said a managing partner of a global venture capital firm who spoke to BioWorld on the condition of anonymity. “President Trump’s first term was bad,” he said, “but nobody knows what’s coming.” “This is truly nationalism at its worst, because he won on the campaign [largely] to protect American jobs, claiming that Americans have been unfairly treated.” And it's not just China, he said, but India and other countries will also likely be affected.

From Feb. 10, the U.S. NIH is to cut the amount of its grants that go to indirect costs, in a move it says will save $4 billion per annum, but which scientists say will hit breakthrough biomedical research. The NIH announced the cut on Friday, Feb. 7, saying there would be a flat rate of 15% for indirect costs, such as running laboratories, buying and maintaining equipment, data processing and storage, across all of its grants. That compares to an average rate historically of between 27% and 28%, the NIH said.