A federal judge ordered a nationwide pause on the National Institutes of Health’s plans to cut federal grant funding.
On Friday, the National Institutes of Health said it would cap the indirect cost payment rate for new and existing grants at 15%, threatening billions of dollars of revenue that academic medical centers use to cover overhead costs associated with research. States and associations that represent universities filed three separate lawsuits Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to block the cuts.
Related: How NIH funding cuts could cost providers billions of dollars
Judge Angel Kelley, who is presiding over all three lawsuits, said in an order issued late Monday that the policy change would cause the Association of American Medical Colleges immediate and irreparable injury, and as such, should be put on hold.
The national temporary restraining order expanded a similar decree also issued yesterday in response to a separate lawsuit filed by 22 states. In that case, Kelley had granted a temporary restraining order that only applied to those states.
Both cases have hearings set for Feb. 21.
