A new NIH rule proposal drew open criticism after it suggested concealing impact scores from grant applicants. Under the plan, reviews would still include written critiques and criterion factor scores, but applicants would be told only whether their application falls into broad percentile buckets such as top 25% or not discussed. Scientists and research organizations argued that removing disclosed scores could reduce transparency and make it harder to interpret reviewer consensus. Critics also said the change could blur differences between high-scoring applications and those that merely land in the same broad tier. The proposal matters for the biotech sector because funding predictability and reviewer transparency directly influence platform risk appetite, trial planning, and workforce stability in translational science.