Under the Bayh-Dole Act, government scientists can collect royalties from drug companies for discoveries they make while working on the public’s dime.
Taxpayers fund government research, while Big Pharma, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIH scientists keep all the profits.
As a patent holder who profits from royalties, the NIH has a significant stake in regulations that impact patents and vaccine mandates, and may use its influence to benefit itself rather than the public.
The NIH distributes $32 billion of taxpayer funds as research grants each year. As the largest federal grant-maker, the NIH has a monopoly on what research gets done and what doesn’t.
Scientists vying for grants also recognize that in order to get funding, they have to play by the rules, and that means doing work that supports establishment narratives on public health policy.