Claims that Cancer Patent Data Indicate NIH Risk Aversion are Unfounded

I write in response to the article “The declining impact of the US National Institutes for Health on cancer patenting”, published on 2nd July 2019 [ref:1]. Zingg claims that his investigation supports “the view that the funding strategy [of the National Institutes of Health, NIH] focuses on incremental rather than on uncertain, but potentially game-changing, projects”. This is based on metrics related to the patent value, technological impact, and number and share of NIH funded patents (“NIH patents”). However, caution should be exercised when interpreting the conclusions given the data presented.