Report: National Institutes of Health added $264M to Maine economy in 2022

2 people in masks and lab coats with test tubes

COURTESY / UNIVERSITY OF MAINE The University of Maine/Orono received seven National Institutes of Health research grants totaling $2,726,984 in 2022.

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By Laurie Schreiber

The National Institutes of Health supported 1,950 jobs and $264 million in economic activity in Maine during 2022 through $112.7 million in grants and contracts, according to a new report.

The sum was above NIH funding of $109.7 million in 2021. According to the report by United for Medical Research, a coalition of research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry, every $1 invested yields $2.64 in new economic activity.

FY22 research funding in Maine was awarded to:

ContinueYou LLC dba RAE Health, Newcastle, two grants totaling $1,001,644
Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, 118 grants totaling $78,891,698
MaineHealth, Portland, 19 grants totaling $13,046,276
Mount Desert Island Biological Lab, Bar Harbor, 14 grants totaling $8,780,656
National Partnership, South Portland, two grants totaling $1,917,877
Prapela, Biddeford, one grant of $1,169,404
University of New England, Biddeford, seven grants totaling $4,018,875
University of Maine, Orono, seven grants totaling $2,726,984
University of Southern Maine, Portland, one grant of $73,767
Wabanaki Health and Wellness, Bangor, one grant of $1,114,057

Nationwide, $36.68 billion in research funding from the National Institutes of Health supported 568,585 jobs and generated $96.84 billion in new economic activity nationwide last year.

More than 80% of the NIH budget is awarded via grants each year. Funding supports employment and the purchase of research-related goods, services and materials.

The NIH budget has seen increases each year since 2016, putting the agency on a sustainable growth path after years of flat funding. Compared to FY15, increases to the NIH budget in FY22 resulted in $13.86 billion more grant funding to researchers, $36.13 billion more economic activity and 216,236 more jobss