Appeals court upholds ruling blocking NIH cap on indirect costs

Federal appeals court judges on Monday upheld a lower court’s ruling preventing the National Institutes of Health from cutting billions of dollars in support for research overhead at universities, academic medical centers, and other grantee institutions.

The three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston affirmed that the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts had jurisdiction to issue an earlier ruling blocking the NIH plan, and that the agency’s intended cap on research overhead support violated congressional language meant to block changes to these payments.

“We agree with the district court that it had jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ claims and that NIH’s action is unlawful because it violates a statute and regulations,” the judges wrote.