"termination of federal grant funding was rare prior to 2025."
"squander participants' and investigators' valuable time, effort, and resources,"
"stifles scientific discovery and innovation."
"First and foremost, it is betrayal of the fundamental principles of informed consent for research."
An analysis compared 383 cancelled trials to the total number of funded trials in each treatment category. Cancer accounted for 118 cancelled trials but represented only 2.7% of 4,424 funded cancer trials; cancelled infectious disease trials comprised over 14% of 675 funded infectious disease trials. Categories most disproportionately affected included infectious, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases. Of the cancelled trials, 140 were for treatment and 123 for prevention. Stated reasons for cancellations and comparable historical cancellation data were not available. Cancellations were described as squandering time and resources, creating sunk costs, stifling innovation, and violating informed consent and ethical principles.
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