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# NIH Grant Cuts Disrupt Hundreds of Clinical Trials: JAMA
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/nih-grant-cuts-disrupt-hundreds-of-clinical-trials-jama/
- Published: 2025-11-17T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T15:26:45.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5160232

A new analysis has found that more than 380 clinical trials supported by the NIH lost funding this year — affecting about 1 in 30 active trials and impacting more than 74,000 participants, according to a study published 11/17 in *JAMA Internal Medicine*. The [research letter](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2840939?guestAccessKey=592ff841-f9a4-498e-987d-6b8c5eab0bef&utm%5Fsource=For%5FThe%5FMedia&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=ftm%5Flinks&utm%5Fcontent=tfl&utm%5Fterm=111725) found that:

- Out of 11,008 NIH‑funded interventional clinical trials active as of 2/28, 383 (3.5 %) lost grant funding by 8/15
- Among those terminated, 74,311 participants were enrolled and may still have been receiving intervention or follow‑up at the time of termination.
- Trials studying prevention, especially in infectious diseases, and those conducted outside the U.S., were disproportionately affected.
- The terminated trials tended to have larger anticipated enrollment: median enrollment of 105 vs 72 for non‑terminated trials.

The disruption of hundreds of trials raises concerns not only about lost scientific knowledge, but also about patient safety, research waste, and public trust. As lead author **Vishal R. Patel** said: “Clinical trials are the gold standard … these are probably the pinnacle of all studies for clinicians.” Participants who enrolled expecting a full trial may face interrupted therapy or monitoring, while researchers warn that even if funding is reinstated, the continuity and integrity of data may be irreparably compromised.

While the study did not definitively credit a cause for every termination, investigators note this wave of cuts comes amid agency‑level policy shifts and reviews of ongoing research priorities at the NIH.

Meanwhile, Public Citizen Health Research Group director **Robert Steinbrook** was quoted in a release as saying: “As was the case with the Trump administration’s [abandonment](https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rCxXwZR0L9lem-2B5XpAYqIXzNAazPKmLOVjPh1yAi8euEgoz5aZJd4JbOmyfiyCkOrhTX5ZdYynGTwOmZIsX1dGAN-2Bm6AkS-2BEt6yaEoVN3xyW-2BtkfRdxV5ZFT7zpMPg9FyeuIh5mLqjkg8SANhrW9pEBg-3DYHuE%5F8L-2BUO-2BHcZ0jU0ZIM-2Fk2uuCXGjFhNX4klQ5lLq1ZhQ6xSfG0Q-2BYqh0-2FsNTsKzyfT4zqPm0M-2FKamORBdxqMOeYWWJxogBULaHpU2rE0tBkGN5tzIipm1xbHwj2yBGjkmcG-2BAo5fq4qMrV-2F82Rofz-2BGaF9Ag7gMQGxMuO5YI0anvkZx4HJ-2FNmM7uLJCAOFFwuxgp5sceiFgFkSQUFZla97UDNR5WpzMUYBzdsbk0HPXDu9-2FmnCpckn-2Bc87GZX3ePioSkhsw1iEdo9oEhKl0M-2BWM-2FENzSPxdNH8rZ3P-2FCEStNApVIg6zT5O9Z7FED60oUsHCc-2F596yMjBJLN6IK-2B6Qvziw-3D-3D&ref=fdaweb.com) of ongoing clinical trials funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, grant terminations in clinical trials funded by the NIH jeopardizes the participants in the trials, undermines research integrity, wastes federal tax dollars, and defies common sense. Ongoing clinical trials should only be stopped for reasons that are scientifically sound, such as when a treatment is shown to be more effective than anticipated or harmful. Interrupting trials for other reasons betrays the participants and is an appalling violation of clinical research ethics. The new study offers a wake-up call to federal health officials who should know better to never repeat these mistakes. They must lessen the damage that has already occurred by promptly restoring all the terminated grants that can be restored.”