Press Release  Governor Healey to RFK Jr: NIH Cuts Have Halted Clinical Trials for Tens of Thousands of Patients

Boston — Governor Maura Healey today wrote to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to demand that he restore funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that have stopped 380 clinical trials and impacted more than 74,000 patients nationally, including 18 clinical trials and 13,000 patients in Massachusetts. In an October meeting, Secretary Kennedy told Governor Healey that no clinical trials had been stopped, and no patients were affected by any of the cuts, and he challenged the Governor to show him any proof to the contrary. 

“You asked for proof that your actions were halting the development of lifesaving cures and treatments, and hurting patients and their families. Now you have it,” wrote Governor Healey. “I ask now that you act to fix this immediately by doing what presidential administrations from both parties have done for decades – unlocking NIH funding to drive the medical breakthroughs and job creation that benefit families in Massachusetts and every corner of our country.” 

The data showing the impacts of NIH cuts on clinical trials and patients is reflected in a JAMA Internal Medicine report, Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health. The Healey-Driscoll Administration has also been in direct contact with Massachusetts’ leading health care and research institutions, as well as the authors of this study, to better understand the impact on Massachusetts. Implicated trials include studies on colorectal cancer, strokes, gestational diabetes, depression, pregnancy complications, and osteoporosis. 

Massachusetts’ educational and medical institutions produce more than $155 billion in annual economic output, and support more than 858,000 jobs. One in every 10 research and development jobs in the nation are based in Massachusetts, and the state is home to approximately 160,000 jobs in the Life Sciences industry. Over 15 percent of drug candidates in the national pipeline are Massachusetts companies, and Massachusetts is one of the leading states in most patents per capita. As a result, Massachusetts is the birthplace of major breakthroughs in treatments for cancers and vaccines for polio, measles, and – most recently -- COVID-19 under President Trump.  

To combat the Trump administration’s attacks on scientific research, Governor Healey launched the Discovery, Research and Innovation for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) Initiative to continue Massachusetts’ leadership in developing life-saving cures, retain world class talent, preserve and create jobs, and support a key foundation of the state and the nation’s economy. 

The Trump Administration recently reached an agreement with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and other Attorneys General regarding the unlawful delay of NIH grant applications. Yesterday, a U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling permanently preventing the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the NIH from implementing a policy that would have capped payments at 15% for indirect research costs. While these are both positive developments thanks to the important work of Attorneys General, they do not impact the outright cuts that have halted these clinical trials and do not assure that the Trump administration will fund necessary and lifesaving studies now that the application review process must move forward. 

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