A federal judge blocked the National Institutes of Health’s grant funding cuts that academic health systems warn would stymie research.
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Judge Angel Kelley on Wednesday granted a motion from attorneys general, medical schools and universities requesting a nationwide preliminary injunction. The injunction replaces a national temporary restraining order Kelley issued Feb. 10, likely setting up a win for the states and hospitals and a possible goverment appeal.
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The block on the cuts will remain in place until the lawsuit is resolved.
The National Institutes of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the National Institutes of Health said it would cap the indirect cost payment rate for new and existing grants at 15%. The cap would wipe out billions of dollars of revenue academic medical centers use to cover overhead costs associated with research. States and associations that represent universities filed three separate lawsuits to block the allegedly unlawful cuts.
In the order, Kelley said the rate change's widespread impact, along with plaintiffs' allegations that the cuts were unlawful, warrants a broad response until final judgment or appellate review, whichever occurs first.
“Considering the irreparable harm likely to befall similarly situated nonparties, the chaos that would result both for institutions and NIH from a patchwork of injunctions, the diffuse nature of the plaintiffs and the nature of the suit, a nationwide preliminary injunction is the appropriate and reasonable remedy,” Kelley said in the order.
