Food and Drug Administration Research

The Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration operates the Food and Drug Administration Research program (CFDA 93.103), which has awarded 3,013 federal grants since 1981, with the most recent award on June 1, 2026. The program is active and remains a viable funding source, though recent award volume has declined: 128 awards were made in 2025 and only 2 in the first six months of 2026, compared to 90–167 awards annually from 2022 through 2024. Combined federal obligations total $4.33 billion, with recipients contributing an additional $220 million in non-federal cost-share.

The program funds concrete research, infrastructure, and operational activities across the FDA's regulatory scope: food safety surveillance and laboratory capacity building; development of medical devices and therapeutics for rare diseases and cancer; veterinary diagnostic capabilities; antimicrobial resistance monitoring in food and animals; training and workforce development for integrated food safety systems; and regulatory science supporting drug and biological product development. Recent awards span regulatory science tool development, clinical trials for rare pediatric cancers and genetic diseases, food testing infrastructure in state laboratories, veterinary laboratory equipment and method validation, antimicrobial stewardship research in companion animals and veterinary settings, and support for FDA-led training initiatives.

Cooperative Agreements dominate the portfolio at 58% of awards (1,751 total), followed by Project Grants at 40% (1,199 total) and Block Grants at 2% (63 total). The FDA itself funds the overwhelming majority: five groupings of awards within the top funders all attribute to the Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration, collectively representing the entire measured portfolio. Top individual award values range from approximately $50 thousand to $6.35 million, with substantial mid-range awards between $500 thousand and $2 million supporting state laboratory networks and multi-year research initiatives.

Representative recent awards include the PRISM cooperative agreement with the Reagan-Udall Foundation ($1.299 million, June 2026) supporting regulatory innovation and stakeholder engagement; a clinical trial of ataxia-telangiectasia antisense oligonucleotide treatment ($3.577 million, September 2025); multiple state Laboratory Flexible Funding Model cooperative agreements for food testing ($1.0 million to $6.35 million, September 2025) across California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Michigan; and domestic clinical field trials for veterinary therapeutics and companion animal health products. Training and capacity-building awards support FDA's Integrated Food Safety System across state and local partners through organizations including the International Food Protection Training Institute, the Association of Food and Drug Officials, and the National Environmental Health Association.

Multiple grant opportunities remain open or recently posted. RFA-FD-25-007 (Laboratory Flexible Funding Model, LFFM) for human and animal food testing closed to new applications but has funded dozens of state laboratories through September 2025. RFA-FD-26-009 (Tribal Produce Safety Alliance, due August 28, 2026) provides education and training on FDA's Produce Safety Rule for tribal farmers. RFA-FD-26-012 (Digital Health Technologies in Clinical Investigations, due August 20, 2026) supports remote data collection using digital tools in drug development trials. PAR-25-014 (NARMS Cooperative Agreement for Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance in Retail Food, rolling deadline April 1, 2027) funds detection of resistance in food commodities. RFA-FD-25-015 (Cardiotoxicity of Oncology Therapeutics, due August 8, 2025) supports applied regulatory science to improve detection and monitoring of cardiac effects in cancer treatment.

The program remains substantial but shows deceleration in 2026, warranting verification of current award cadence and upcoming solicitation schedules before major pursuit investment.