← All drugs built on NIH-funded research
Eli Lilly · Baricitinib
Olumiant: patented from NIH-funded research, then Medicare paid $35M for it in 2024
Medicare paid, 2024
$35M
before rebates
Medicare, 2020–2024
$123M
$22K per patient in 2024
Medicaid paid, 2024
$33M
before rebates
NIH grants behind the patents
$3.1M
whole-grant totals, not the drug's cost
The public record, link by link
1 · Public money
2 NIH grants to Columbia University Health Sciences, $3.1M in all.2 · Patent
9737469, 11806555, reported to NIH under R01AR056016, R21AR061881.3 · FDA approval
Approved May 31, 2018, held by Eli Lilly and (NDA 207924).4 · Public pays
Medicare paid $35M in 2024 for 1,609 patients; Medicaid $33M.
What Medicare paid for Olumiant
The grants
| Grant | Research | Years | NIH paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| R01AR056016 NIAMS | Genome Wide Association Studies in Alopecia Areata Columbia University Health Sciences | 2008–2012 | $2.7M |
| R21AR061881 NIAMS | Identification of Alopecia Areata Biomarkers in Skin and Blood Columbia University Health Sciences | 2011–2012 | $398K |
The patents
- US 9737469FDA-listed expiry Nov 2, 2031
Methods for Treating Hair Loss Disorders
Reported by Columbia University New York Morningside
- US 11806555FDA-listed expiry Nov 2, 2031
METHODS FOR TREATING HAIR LOSS DISORDERS
Reported by Columbia University New York Morningside
Eli Lilly's side
Drug makers pay for the clinical trials that take a compound from the lab to FDA approval, and they often license the patent from the university and pay royalties on sales. Those terms are not public. The FDA's approval records for Olumiant are linked above, and Eli Lilly's page shows its other drugs on this list. If Eli Lilly wants to add its account, we will publish it here.
How this is built. Universities and companies that use NIH grants must report the inventions those grants produce to NIH, under the Bayh-Dole Act. NIH publishes the patent numbers and the grants they were reported under. We match those patents to the patents drug makers list with the FDA for each approved drug (the Orange Book), then add what Medicare Part D, Part B and Medicaid paid for each drug. Only patents still listed with the FDA appear, so drugs whose patents have expired drop out, and biologics, which the Orange Book does not cover, are not here yet.
What the numbers mean. "NIH grants" is everything NIH paid out on the grants a patent was reported under, from 1985 on. A grant usually paid for more than the one invention, so it is not the cost of the drug. Medicare and Medicaid figures are gross spending before the rebates drug makers pay back, which are confidential. Companies also paid for the clinical trials that took these drugs to approval; each drug page links the company's own filings.
Sources: NIH RePORTER patents reported under NIH grants (from iEdison); NIH RePORTER project funding; FDA Orange Book patent and product files; Medicare Part D Spending by Drug; Medicare Part B Spending by Drug; Medicaid Spending by Drug. Updated 2026-11-05.