Grant Funding Disruptions Affect One in 30 Clinical Trials

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Grant funding disruptions affected about one in 30 trials, according to a research letter published online Nov. 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine.Vishal R. Patel, M.D., M.P.H., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues identified all National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded interventional clinical trials supported by active grants as of Feb. 28, 2025, and examined grants terminated since this date.There were 11,008 clinical trials funded by NIH grants between Feb. 28, 2025, and Aug. 15, 2025, of which 383 (3.5 percent) subsequently lost grant funding. The researchers found that of the trials affected by terminated funding, the status at the time of termination included completed, recruiting, not yet recruiting, active and not recruiting, and enrolling by invitation (36.1, 34.5, 13.7, 11.1, and 3.4 percent, respectively). Compared with trials with retained funding, trials affected by terminated funding had higher median anticipated enrollment (105 versus 72, respectively). A total of 74,311 individuals had been enrolled in trials classified as active and not recruiting at the time of funding termination, in which participants may have been receiving interventions. Terminated funding disproportionately affected trials conducted outside the United States compared with U.S.-based trials (5.8 versus 3.4 percent). Trials affected by terminated grants differed by primary condition, from 14.4 to 2.2 percent for infectious disease trials and neurologic and reproductive health trials, respectively."Because trials require sustained financial support to ensure operations and participant safety, unanticipated funding disruptions raise concerns about avoidable waste, data quality, and compromised ethical obligations to participants," the authors write.One author disclosed ties to the publishing industry.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)Editorial (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Grant Funding Disruptions Affect One in 30 Clinical Trials

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