Friends Research Institute

Name

Friends Research Institute

Legal name

Friends Research Institute, Inc.

Website

https://friendsresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit health research services

NAICS

Health Care and Social Assistance (62), Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Behavioral Health & Substance Use Program Funding (Public Health) (HLAJALAI), Behavioral Health & Substance Use Public Health Programs (BPAIAJAK)

Keywords

• Addiction research services
• Clinical trials management
• Substance use research
• HIV prevention research
• Implementation science

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Primary funding from NIH, NIDA, and other federal agencies through competitive grant programs for research on addiction, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and criminal justice health
2. HEAL Initiative Funding: NIH HEAL Initiative grants supporting research on opioid crisis solutions, including JCOIN (Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Friends Research Institute is a non-profit research institution that conducts clinical trials of pharmacological and behavioral treatments for substance use disorders, epidemiological investigations, technology-based interventions, health services research, and implementation science focused on substance use, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and criminal justice. Its portfolio is funded primarily through federal research grants (NIH, NIDA, HEAL Initiative), with findings disseminated via academic publications, conferences, and integration into federal guidelines and community programs.

Product overview

Friends Research Institute is a multidisciplinary, non-profit research institution rather than a traditional product company. Its offerings consist of research programs, clinical interventions, and community service divisions. Key offerings include the Text Me, Girl! mobile intervention for HIV prevention, the Friends Community Center (FCC) providing community-based participatory research, and various research tools like BMOREsafe. The portfolio spans clinical trials of pharmacological and behavioral treatments, epidemiological investigations, technology-based interventions, health services research, and implementation science. Currently, the FRI portfolio spans clinical trials of pharmacological and behavioral treatments, epidemiological investigations, technology-based interventions, health services research, and implementation science.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Text Me, Girl! Intervention A mobile text messaging intervention designed by Dr. Cathy Reback to reduce HIV transmission and acquisition among sexual minority men, transgender women, and other gender-expansive individuals at risk of HIV infection; added to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Best Practices Compilation.
• BMOREsafe A research tool and resource under FRI's Tools & Resources, focused on health and safety interventions in Baltimore.
• Friends Community Center (FCC) A division of Friends Research Institute providing service delivery and community-based participatory research to sexual minority men, transgender women, and other gender-expansive individuals living with or at risk of HIV infection in Los Angeles County.
• COG Analytics An affiliated organization of Friends Research Institute providing data analytics and research tools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research on prison-initiated buprenorphine highlighted by NIDA Director Nora Volkow as significant contribution to field
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• New York UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Collaboration on UM1 subaward for GLOW-UPS project - multi-stage, multi-site trial on GLP-1 outcomes among persons involved in the criminal-legal system, with MPIs Dr. Joshua Lee from NYU
• Dartmouth UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Collaboration on UM1 subaward for GLOW-UPS project with MPI Lisa Marsch from Dartmouth University
• Yale UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Collaboration on UM1 subaward for GLOW-UPS project with MPI Sandra Springer from Yale University
• Friends Community Center (FCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA division of FRI founded by Dr. Cathy Reback to provide service delivery and community-based participatory research to sexual minority men, transgender women, and other gender-expansive individuals at risk of HIV in Los Angeles County. Located on border of Hollywood and West Hollywood.
• Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-site research network focused on improving care for people with opioid use disorders in the criminal justice system; FRI research regularly highlighted in JCOIN newsletter
• Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-PI collaboration on Mid-Atlantic Node of NIDA Clinical Trials Network with Dr. George Bigelow; Dr. Robert Schwartz collaboration
• SAMHSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Robert Schwartz chaired development of TIP 63 (Treatment Improvement Protocol) on Medications for Opioid Use Disorder; FRI research included in SAMHSA intervention guides

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Westat: Employee-owned research firm providing survey, statistical, and clinical trial support on NIH behavioral health and substance use contracts.
• RAND Corporation: Non-profit policy and applied research organization with established substance use, criminal justice, and behavioral health research programs overlapping FRI's portfolio.
• RTI International: Large non-profit scientific research institute running federally funded addiction, criminal justice, and health services studies at materially greater scale than FRI.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent non-profit research organization conducting federal health-services and behavioral research at university-affiliated scale comparable to what FRI partners with.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Large non-profit behavioral and social science research organization with health-services and addiction-related federal contracts analogous to FRI's NIH portfolio.
• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Nationwide addiction treatment system with a research arm (Butler Center for Research) generating publications and toolkits on SUD; broader clinical footprint than FRI but overlapping research scope.

Direct peers

• Chestnut Health Systems: Non-profit research-and-treatment organization operating addiction clinical trials and implementation science alongside service delivery, mirroring FRI's integrated research-and-service model.
• Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE): Independent non-profit research institute with major portfolios in substance use, criminal justice, and behavioral health - comparable federal-grant-driven operating model.
• National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI): Non-profit applied behavioral and public health research organization focused on substance use, HIV, and comorbidities - structurally and topically the closest peer to FRI.

Regional players

• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Co-located Baltimore academic medical center collaborating with FRI on the Mid-Atlantic NIDA CTN node, competing for similar federal addiction-research funding in the same metro area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-research-institute-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friends Research Institute