This article demonstrates that Russia’s funding for research and development is less than 2.5 % of global funding, whereas the amount of financing of just three countries, the USA, China, and Japan amounts to 50%. It is argued that the inadequacy of Russia’s domestic financing for the development of the science sector vis a vis that of developed countries allows the country to prioritize only a limited number of research fields in its scientific and technological development. We have compared and contrasted expenditures on research and development in biomedicine in the USA and Russia. It has been demonstrated that in 2014, basic funding for 27 research centers included in the US National Health Institutes’ network exceeded the amount of financing for 104 Russian medical scientific and research institutes subordinated to the Russian Ministry of Health and Federal Agency of Scientific Organizations by 173 times. We have concluded that a substantial increase in state funding for fundamental, exploratory, and applied research in the field of biomedicine is required if life sciences are to be preserved as one of the priorities in the scientific-technological and social development of Russia. It is also necessary to eliminate all administrative and tax barriers that prevent active participation of domestic industrial entities in the co-financing of the development of Russian drugs and medical equipment.