NIH to transfer infectious-disease projects to US military biodefence

September 5, 2026 at 12:32 AM2 min

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The US National Institutes of Health plans to redirect research projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars from its infectious-diseases institute to military biodefence programmes at the Department of Defense. The NIH and DOD have signed an agreement for the arrangement, which the NIH aims to complete by the end of September. The move comes as the NIH ousts infectious-disease leaders and faces charges against COVID scientists.

Key Facts

The NIH and DOD have signed an agreement to transfer research projects from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to military biodefence programmes.
The agreement will last 10 years and aims to be completed by the end of September, when the fiscal year ends.
The NIH spokesperson said the partnership will occur on a project-by-project basis and there is no blanket transfer of funds.
Samuel Bagenstos, former top lawyer for the Department of Health and Human Services, said using NIH resources to cover military budget shortfalls would be illegal.
Biosecurity specialist Gigi Gronvall said the Department of Defense is not set up to deliver the scientific innovations expected from NIH.

Agreement Details

The NIH is identifying projects to transfer to the DOD and aims to complete the agreement by the end of September, when the fiscal year ends and some funds expire. The agreement would establish a pathway to move funding out of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support defence initiatives and will last 10 years. An NIH spokesperson said the partnership will only take place on a project-by-project basis and all research will be within the scope of NIH's mission. The full agreement has not yet been finalized, according to the three sources.

Legal and Ethical Concerns

Samuel Bagenstos, who until December 2025 was the top lawyer for the NIH's parent agency, said federal law allows agreements between US agencies to share funding in some circumstances. Bagenstos said it would be illegal to use NIH resources to cover military budget shortfalls because that would serve the purposes of DOD, not NIH. Biosecurity researchers warn that shifting biomedical research to the military threatens the transparency and clinical translation that define NIH-funded work. Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity specialist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the Department of Defense is not set up to deliver the scientific innovations expected from NIH.