A new analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that “recent terminations of NIH research grants abruptly disrupted 383 active clinical trials affecting more than 74,000 enrolled participants.” CIDRAP has the news.
The cross-sectional study “examined all NIH-funded interventional trials active between February 28, 2025, when the first wave of grant cancellations was reported, and August 15, 2025. Of 11,008 ongoing trials, 3.5% lost funding during this time.” 36% of those studies had “completed data collection, while more than one-third were actively recruiting.” 43 of the trials were “’active, not recruiting,’ meaning that participants may have been receiving interventions at the time funding was withdrawn.”
The highest proportion of terminations came in trials focused on infectious diseases (14.4%), “followed by prevention-focused studies (8.4%) and those involving behavioral interventions (5%).” These terminations can “jeopardize follow-up, undermine data quality, and leave researchers unable to complete analyses.”
An accompanying commentary to the study wrote that “terminating funding for reasons unrelated to safety or efficacy is an ethical breach,” violating principles of informed consent. Participants “exposed to an intervention in the context of a trial may be harmed by its premature withdrawal or inadequate follow-up and monitoring for adverse effects.” Some grants have been reinstated since, but “reversals can mitigate, but not undo, the scientific and ethical harms.”
