Group: EU should double research spending

When it comes to government spending on medical research, the EU is far behind the U.S. And some of the leaders in the field say it's time to catch up--fast. A new study by the European Medical Research Councils concludes that non-market sector medical research in the EU amounts to .17 percent of GDP compared to .37-.40 percent in the U.S. The extra American money delivers one additional scientific paper per 10,000 population. But their argument doesn't center on a move to claim bragging rights for the most money spent. Europe needs to bolster medical research spending in order to face that consequences of global warming, an aging society and build a better research base for the group of 15 nations, the council warns.

"What Europe needs is a more coherent, strategic approach to research at a European level," said EMRC co-chair Janez Potočnik. Of course, researchers calling for more research spending can hardly be unexpected. In the U.S., researchers have been clamoring for the government to boost NIH funding after watching public spending plateau in recent years.

- see this release
- here's the report on European research from PharmaTimes

ALSO: Johns Hopkins led the nation in funding for medical, science and engineering research in 2006 with nearly $1.49 billion. Report

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