Nearly seven months after the start of the US fiscal year (FY) 2024, the US federal government finally has a budget, with the second set of twelve appropriations bills signed into law by President Biden on March 23. These annual bills, which fund the government through September 30, 2024, provide $194.3 for research and development (R&D) funding, a cut of about $5 billion (2.7%) compared to last year, when a substantial increase of 10% had been appropriated. These cuts occurred following spending limits imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

Facing a challenging macroeconomic environment, most leading international publicly held life science and analytical instrument companies reported sales declines in the mid-single digits for the fourth quarter of 2023 and drops in the low single-digits for the full year—all against tough comparisons of strong growth from the previous year. In short, 2023 was a year when the pandemic tailwinds became headwinds.