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Condition (MeSH)

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 169 trials for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction or a narrower condition beneath it. Lumenis Be Ltd. has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 5.

MeSH D000080343 Eye Diseases C11
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Phase 1 Phase 1 1 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 2 Phase 2 Phase 2 15 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 2 Phase 3 Phase 3 3 Phase 4 Phase 4 17 Not applicable Not applicable 104 Observational Observational 25 Phase 1 Phase 1 1 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 2 Phase 2 Phase 2 15 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 2 Phase 3 Phase 3 3 Phase 4 Phase 4 17 Not applicable Not applicable 104 Observational Observational 25

Trials per phase (log scale)

169 of the 169 trials are tagged with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Meibomian Gland Dysfunction report as a PDF

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When did Meibomian Gland Dysfunction trials start? (18)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational

Top of scale: 17

2008: 4 trials (Phase 4 2, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 1) 2010: 4 trials (Not applicable 2, Phase 4 2) 2011: 4 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 1) 2012: 7 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 3, Phase 2 1) 2013: 5 trials (Not applicable 3, Phase 2 2) 2014: 7 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 2015: 7 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 6) 2016: 7 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 4, Phase 1/2 1) 2017: 10 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 1) 2018: 16 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 1) 2019: 12 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 8, Phase 2 2) 2020: 17 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 10, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2) 2021: 14 trials (Not applicable 10, Phase 4 3, Phase 2 1) 2022: 17 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 11, Phase 4 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2) 2023: 11 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 7, Phase 2 1) 2024: 12 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 2) 2025: 7 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 5, Phase 2 1)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 8
2025 7
2024 12
2023 11
2022 17
2021 14
2020 17
2019 12
2018 16
2017 10

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 9 trials starting in 2026 and about 10 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 28 percent and ran about 20 percent low against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 39 percent and ran about 37 percent low against the count later registered. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 27 months from start to primary completion across 13 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 10 months across 114 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Meibomian Gland Dysfunction trials in? (8)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 1
Phase 1/2 2
Phase 2 15
Phase 2/3 2
Phase 3 3
Phase 4 17
Not applicable 104
Observational 25

How many Meibomian Gland Dysfunction trials are recruiting? (8)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 6
Recruiting 7
Enrolling by invitation 3
Active, not recruiting 2
Completed 104

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Meibomian Gland Dysfunction trials? (7)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
Lumenis Be Ltd. 5
Azura Ophthalmics 4
Alcon Research 3
Laboratoires Thea 3
Sight Sciences, Inc. 3

Which drugs are being tested for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction? (1)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
Systane COMPLETE 3

Interventions as named in the registry (14)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
1% Azithromycin 4
Sham treatment 4
Doxycline 4
AZR-MD-001 Vehicle 3
Tears Naturale Forte 2

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Meibomian Gland Dysfunction trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
vomiting and loss of appetide 15 1
Cystoid Macular Edema 3 1
Angina pectoris 1 1
Anterior Capsular Phimosis 1 1
Atrial fibrillation 1 1

Which publications cover Meibomian Gland Dysfunction? (54)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Publications
Publication Journal Year Major topic
TFOS DEWS III: Management and Therapy. American journal of ophthalmology 2025 Yes
Low-level light therapy alone versus combination therapy with intense pulsed light in the treatment of dry eye disease with meibomian gland dysfunction: A randomised paired-eye and mechanism of action trial. Contact lens & anterior eye : the journal of the British Contact Lens Association 2025 Yes
Safety and efficacy of a novel intense pulsed light system in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction: a randomized, double-masked, intra-individual controlled study. International ophthalmology 2025 Yes
Durability of the TearCare treatment effect in subjects with dry eye disease: Stage 3 of the Sahara randomized controlled trial. Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry 2025 Yes
Evaluation of the Impact of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Using a Novel Patient-Reported Outcome Instrument. Journal of ocular pharmacology and therapeutics : the official journal of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2024 Yes

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence, rare-disease identity, and sub-conditions in mesh.

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