Comparison of Industry and National Institutes of Health Funding for Orthopedic Surgery Research.

Background: The aims of this study were to analyze trends in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for musculoskeletal (MSK) research from 2012 to 2021, compare private industry funding to NIH funding, determine the proportion of total MSK research funding from public versus private sources, and examine how private industry research and development (R&D) spending has evolved in relation to net sales.

Materials and methods: Public research funding from 2012 to 2021 was aggregated using NIH data for MSK conditions with >$10M in funding. Private R&D funding was obtained from the top five orthopedic companies by revenue and compared to net sales to calculate R&D as a percentage of total sales. Annually reported financial statements from Securities Exchange Commission filings were used. Private funding was summed annually and compared to National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases spending using descriptive statistics.

Results: Annual research funding from the top five orthopedic companies is 10.0 times that of the NIH, an increase from 9.2 times in 2017. The top five companies spent a mean of 7.2% of their net sales on R&D. Overall, $7.7 billion is allocated to MSK research annually, with only 9.1% from public sources.

Conclusion: Given this disparity, efforts should assess public investment in orthopedic research while recognizing the critical role of industry in funding musculoskeletal research. [Orthopedics. 2025;48(4):e182-e186.].