National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

What National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) does

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a US federal research institute established in 1974 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, operating as a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA's core function is to fund, conduct, and coordinate biomedical research on drug use, addiction, and related health consequences — including basic science, clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and real-time public health surveillance. Notable technical and programmatic components include the NIH HEAL Initiative for opioid crisis solutions, a nationwide wastewater monitoring pilot with Biobot Analytics (76 sites, 41 states, ~20 million people covered), intramural discovery programs producing novel compounds such as DFNZ (a non-addictive opioid analog published in Nature) and a purified mitragynine formulation for opioid use disorder, and grants supporting AI-powered digital twin models at academic partners.

NIDA does not sell products or services and has no commercial revenue model; it is funded entirely through federal appropriations disbursed via NIH. Pricing is not applicable. Its 'customers' in an operational sense are grant recipients (research institutions, academic medical centers), public health implementers (state and local health departments), and ultimately patient populations enrolled in clinical trials (e.g., pregnant adults with opioid use disorder, heavy cannabis users). The institute employs between 501 and 1,000 staff and distributes substantial grant funding — for example, $5.6 million to UC San Diego for AI decision-making models and $3 million to University of Colorado Boulder for a CBD clinical trial — to advance substance use disorder science across the country.

Name

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Legal name

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Website

https://drugabuse.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a US federal research institute under NIH that funds and conducts biomedical research on drug addiction, operating the HEAL Initiative and supporting clinical trials, wastewater surveillance, and novel therapeutics development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Research

NAICS

Public Administration (92)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory Strategy & IND/NDA/BLA Submissions Support (HLAIALAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Behavioral Health & Substance Use Program Funding (Public Health) (HLAJALAI)

Keywords

• Substance use research
• Addiction research funding
• Clinical trial programs
• Drug abuse research
• Public health surveillance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Core offering

NIDA is a U.S. federal-government research institute that funds and conducts scientific research on drug use, addiction, and related health outcomes. It awards grants to academic and medical institutions for clinical trials and biomedical research, and operates large-scale programs such as the NIH HEAL Initiative to address the opioid crisis and a nationwide wastewater monitoring pilot through Biobot Analytics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NIH HEAL Initiative
• Research Grants Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Wastewater monitoring program can detect shifts in fentanyl use 15 months ahead of traditional overdose reporting systems
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH researchers, in partnership with the University of Florida, developed a purified formulation of mitragynine to be used in the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study of mitragynine's safety and tolerability as a treatment for opioid use disorder. The trial is part of the NIH HEAL Initiative.
• UC San DiegocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC San Diego received a $5.6 million National Institute on Drug Abuse award to support AI-powered 'digital twin' models to study decision-making in populations with HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose risk. The research aims to enable earlier medical interventions and test prevention strategies.
• Biobot AnalyticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH/NIDA funded Biobot Analytics' nationwide wastewater monitoring pilot program that analyzed weekly wastewater samples from 76 locations across 41 US states, testing for fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, xylazine, and naloxone. The real-time data guided public health action in participating communities.
• University of Colorado BouldercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearchers at the University of Colorado Boulder received a $3 million grant from NIDA to conduct a clinical trial testing whether hemp-derived CBD can help heavy cannabis users reduce intake or quit entirely. The study enrolls 150 participants over eight weeks.
• Clinical Trial SitescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical trial supported by NIH/NIDA found that weekly extended-release buprenorphine was more effective than sublingual buprenorphine in supporting opioid abstinence during pregnancy. The study involved 140 pregnant adults.
• Ayuda MedicalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAyuda Medical, founded in 2019, developed the ARMband device that detects drug overdoses and alerts nearby help. The company is supported by NIH and NIDA and is seeking FDA approval to expand use across the US amid rising overdose deaths.
• Ayuda MedicalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAyuda Medical, supported by NIH and NIDA, developed the ARMband overdose detection device and is seeking FDA approval. The company was founded in 2019 by Dr. Desislava Hite and her husband Michael.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA): EMCDDA is the EU's drug-use surveillance and research coordination agency. It is the closest international analogue to NIDA's public-health monitoring and addiction-research mission, operating in a different geography.
• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA): CCSA is Canada's national substance-use research and policy body, federally funded and tasked with advancing evidence-based addiction research. Comparable to NIDA in mandate, though smaller in scale and operating in Canada.

Direct peers

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): NIMH is a peer NIH institute that funds biomedical and clinical research on mental health disorders, including comorbidities with substance use. It shares NIDA's federal grantmaking, clinical trials, and translational research model.
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): NIAAA is a sibling NIH institute with the same federal research-funding model focused specifically on alcohol use. It is directly comparable in structure, funding mechanism, and mission of advancing addiction science.

Broad incumbents

• National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI is a peer NIH institute of comparable scale that funds extramural biomedical research and runs its own intramural programs. Comparable in governance, peer review, and federal grantmaking architecture.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): CDC is the federal public-health agency that operates surveillance systems and runs overdose-prevention programs. NIDA's wastewater monitoring work overlaps directly with CDC's overdose-data and surveillance functions.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): SAMHSA is the federal HHS agency that administers substance-use and behavioral-health treatment programs. It is the natural federal counterpart to NIDA on the services-delivery side and jointly shapes national substance-use policy.
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): NINDS is a peer NIH institute that funds neuroscience and pain research with overlapping interest in addiction neurobiology and the non-addictive pain compounds NIDA is developing. Operates at a comparable scale under the same NIH umbrella.

Emerging players

• Biobot Analytics: Biobot Analytics is a private wastewater epidemiology company that runs the 76-site U.S. surveillance program funded by NIDA. It is a direct operational counterpart for the wastewater-monitoring pillar of NIDA's portfolio.

Others

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA): FDA is the federal regulator for IND/NDA submissions and Schedule I research registration. NIDA's mitragynine IND and HEAL clinical programs depend on FDA, making it the most consequential regulatory counterpart.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NIDAnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments84 records

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Frequently asked questions about National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)