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Condition (MeSH)

Connective Tissue Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 7,954 trials for Connective Tissue Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. Hoffmann-La Roche has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 212.

MeSH D003240 Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases C17
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Phase 1 Phase 1 801 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 307 Phase 2 Phase 2 1,117 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 142 Phase 3 Phase 3 903 Phase 4 Phase 4 580 Not applicable Not applicable 1,759 Observational Observational 2,320 Phase 1 Phase 1 801 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 307 Phase 2 Phase 2 1,117 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 142 Phase 3 Phase 3 903 Phase 4 Phase 4 580 Not applicable Not applicable 1,759 Observational Observational 2,320

Trials per phase

1 more section with rows

189 of the 7,954 trials are tagged with Connective Tissue Diseases itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

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The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Connective Tissue Diseases trials start? (37)

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. 17 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational
  • Other (Expanded access)

Top of scale: 484

1990: 2 trials (Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 1991: 7 trials (Observational 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2) 1992: 3 trials (Observational 2, Phase 2 1) 1993: 4 trials (Observational 3, Phase 1 1) 1994: 8 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 2, Phase 2/3 1) 1995: 15 trials (Observational 7, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 1) 1996: 12 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1) 1997: 24 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 9, Phase 1 2) 1998: 16 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 1999: 25 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 8, Phase 1 2) 2000: 44 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 12, Phase 2 11, Phase 1 4) 2001: 58 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2002: 72 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2003: 96 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 3) 2004: 125 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 18, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 24, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 6) 2005: 138 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 34, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 33, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 11) 2006: 175 trials (Observational 43, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 26, Phase 3 35, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 9) 2007: 233 trials (Observational 54, Not applicable 18, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 54, Phase 2/3 10, Phase 2 35, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 24) 2008: 222 trials (Observational 50, Not applicable 23, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 36, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 51, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 26) 2009: 271 trials (Other 2, Observational 66, Not applicable 44, Phase 4 25, Phase 3 52, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 44, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 21) 2010: 291 trials (Observational 75, Not applicable 39, Phase 4 35, Phase 3 51, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 49, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 29) 2011: 316 trials (Observational 84, Not applicable 48, Phase 4 32, Phase 3 46, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 51, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 40) 2012: 346 trials (Observational 116, Not applicable 60, Phase 4 29, Phase 3 47, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 59, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 25) 2013: 302 trials (Observational 92, Not applicable 57, Phase 4 35, Phase 3 39, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 28) 2014: 311 trials (Observational 94, Not applicable 77, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 41, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 41, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 31) 2015: 295 trials (Observational 86, Not applicable 52, Phase 4 29, Phase 3 35, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 43, Phase 1/2 13, Phase 1 35) 2016: 318 trials (Observational 87, Not applicable 80, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 29, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 51, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 31) 2017: 325 trials (Observational 99, Not applicable 87, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 25, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 20, Phase 1 34) 2018: 367 trials (Observational 120, Not applicable 96, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 39, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 40, Phase 1/2 17, Phase 1 28) 2019: 351 trials (Observational 104, Not applicable 107, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 24, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 52, Phase 1/2 14, Phase 1 28) 2020: 358 trials (Observational 140, Not applicable 111, Phase 4 26, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 33, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 16) 2021: 454 trials (Observational 152, Not applicable 128, Phase 4 25, Phase 3 26, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 59, Phase 1/2 16, Phase 1 39) 2022: 441 trials (Observational 140, Not applicable 131, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 38, Phase 2/3 11, Phase 2 49, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 33) 2023: 443 trials (Observational 145, Not applicable 120, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 47, Phase 2/3 8, Phase 2 43, Phase 1/2 19, Phase 1 41) 2024: 484 trials (Observational 140, Not applicable 149, Phase 4 26, Phase 3 31, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 36, Phase 1/2 33, Phase 1 65) 2025: 484 trials (Observational 145, Not applicable 128, Phase 4 16, Phase 3 20, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 50, Phase 1/2 21, Phase 1 101)

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) 441
2025 484
2024 484
2023 443
2022 441
2021 454
2020 358
2019 351
2018 367
2017 325

Showing 10 of 37 earlier years.

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Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 490 trials starting in 2026 and about 490 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 13 percent and ran about 12 percent low against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 19 percent and ran about 17 percent low against the count later registered, and had about the same error as repeating last year's count. 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 36 months from start to primary completion across 719 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 23 months across 4,816 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Connective Tissue Diseases trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 801
Phase 1/2 307
Phase 2 1,117
Phase 2/3 142
Phase 3 903
Phase 4 580
Not applicable 1,759
Observational 2,320
Expanded access 25

How many Connective Tissue Diseases trials are recruiting? (12)

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 365
Recruiting 926
Enrolling by invitation 81
Active, not recruiting 321
Available 7

Showing 5 of 12 statuses.

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Connective Tissue Diseases trials? (11)

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
Hoffmann-La Roche 212
Pfizer 153
Bristol-Myers Squibb 116
Amgen 99
GlaxoSmithKline 91

Showing 5 of 11 sponsors.

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Which drugs are being tested for Connective Tissue Diseases? (7)

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
RITUXIMAB 108
Cytoxan 82
(CP-6890,550) Tofacitinib 75
INFLIXIMAB 74
Belimumab 52

Showing 5 of 7 drugs.

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Interventions as named in the registry (8)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
HD- Methotrexate (MTX) 291
tocilizumab SC 141
Adalimumab-US 138
1=Etanercept 121
Abatacept SC 101

Showing 5 of 8 interventions.

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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 Connective Tissue Diseases 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
Pneumonia 3,994 442
Osteoarthritis 1,955 210
Invasive cancer of any type 1,617 1
Rheumatoid arthritis 1,365 202
Cellulitis 1,259 282

Showing 5 of 10 adverse events.

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Which publications cover Connective Tissue Diseases? (173)

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

Publications
Publication Journal Year Major topic
Fragmented QRS complex could predict all-cause mortality in patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. Rheumatology (Oxford, England) 2025 Yes
Prospective assessment of glucocorticoid toxicity in rheumatology practice: a focus on the glucocorticoid toxicity index. Rheumatology (Oxford, England) 2025 Yes
Eltrombopag for the treatment of refractory connective tissue disease-related thrombocytopenia: a pilot study of 52 cases. Arthritis research & therapy 2025 Yes
The prognostic value of HFA-PEFF score in connective tissue disease-associated PAH: evidence from a cohort study. BMC cardiovascular disorders 2025 Yes
Laser prophylaxis for retinal detachment in Stickler syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta ophthalmologica 2025 Yes

Showing 5 of 173 publications.

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Sub-conditions in MeSH (25)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

+15 more sub-conditions

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

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

Browse all condition evidence pages