> The NIH funds a huge fraction vast of biomedical research in the US.
This document https://www.researchamerica.org/sites/default/files/Policy_A... states that in 2017 private industry spent $121 billion on Medical & Health R&D Expenditures in 2017 compared to $39 for the federal govt ($32 of which is NIH). $121 billion in a single year -- I honestly assumed the number was in millions till I re-read it.
You are probably right that the drug companies are (not surprisingly) focused specifically on drugs while NIH research is more general and widespread. But that is still a very large difference.
This document https://www.researchamerica.org/sites/default/files/Policy_A... states that in 2017 private industry spent $121 billion on Medical & Health R&D Expenditures in 2017 compared to $39 for the federal govt ($32 of which is NIH). $121 billion in a single year -- I honestly assumed the number was in millions till I re-read it.
This article https://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-trial-funding-2015... says "Industry funds six times more clinical trials than feds"
You are probably right that the drug companies are (not surprisingly) focused specifically on drugs while NIH research is more general and widespread. But that is still a very large difference.