WASHINGTON — Cancer institutes across the country are relying more heavily than ever on pharmaceutical industry funding for research as the proportion of federal support shrinks, raising concerns among scientists struggling to compete for the next oncology breakthrough.
At Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, industry money makes up nearly a quarter of its research support, compared with 10 percent a decade ago, according to the institute. The federal share of research money has eroded during that time from more than 70 percent of funding to just under 60 percent.