Objective: To examine the funding priorities of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) since 2016 to assess whether NIMH was continuing to prioritize basic research at the expense of clinical research.
Methods: Six psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, autism) were assessed using 2 publicly available data sources (ClinicalTrials.gov and the National Institutes of Health Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization [RCDC]) to determine the degree of NIMH support for drug trials and research on these disorders in general since 2016.
Results: From 2017 through 2022, ClinicalTrials.gov lists just 1 drug trial each for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The RCDC database for 2016 through 2021 shows that NIMH support for research projects on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder decreased by 22% and 20%, respectively. During that time, Congress increased the budget of NIMH by 40%.
Conclusions: NIMH has continued to prioritize basic research over clinical trials, resulting in a steep decline in funding for possible treatments for the most serious and costly psychiatric diseases.
Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2023;25(4):23m03486.
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