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The Therapeutic Consequences of the War: World War II and the 20th-Century Expansion of Biomedicine

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  • Daniel P. Gross
  • Bhaven N. Sampat

Abstract

During World War II, the U.S. Committee on Medical Research (CMR) undertook an integrated, cross-sectoral effort to develop medical science and technology for war, representing the U.S. government's first substantial investment in medical research. Using data on all CMR research contracts, we show that although it had mixed results during the war, it left a large imprint on the postwar U.S. biomedical innovation system. Research areas it supported experienced rapid growth in postwar science, especially in new subjects. It also stimulated the U.S. pharmaceutical industry's adoption of modern science-based drug discovery, fueled new postwar drug development, influenced medical practice, and shaped extramural research funding at the National Institutes of Health. Contemporary accounts of individual CMR programs point to specific ways these investments enabled old and new subjects to grow. The evidence documents the long-run effects coordinated, application-oriented biomedical research can have on science and technology and challenges the influential 'linear model' paradigm in research policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel P. Gross & Bhaven N. Sampat, 2025. "The Therapeutic Consequences of the War: World War II and the 20th-Century Expansion of Biomedicine," NBER Working Papers 33457, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33457
    Note: DAE EH PE PR
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • N42 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N72 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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