Condition (MeSH)
Cough
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 497 trials for Cough or a narrower condition beneath it. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 11.
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Trials per phase (log scale)
410 of the 497 trials are tagged with Cough itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.
When did Cough trials start? (27)
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. 4 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
Top of scale: 35
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.
| Year | Trials started |
|---|---|
| 2026 (partial year) | 34 |
| 2025 | 32 |
| 2024 | 30 |
| 2023 | 35 |
| 2022 | 35 |
| 2021 | 32 |
| 2020 | 32 |
| 2019 | 26 |
| 2018 | 30 |
| 2017 | 14 |
Showing 10 of 27 earlier years.
Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 41 trials starting in 2026 and about 35 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward, with about 0.7 times the starts already registered for the rest of 2026 added. 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 15 percent and ran about 1 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 26 percent and ran about 20 percent low against the count later registered. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. 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 32 months from start to primary completion across 27 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 13 months across 310 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.
What phase are Cough trials in? (8)
Shown in this order: phase order.
Show the trials by phase as a table
| Phase | Trials |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 38 |
| Phase 1/2 | 11 |
| Phase 2 | 57 |
| Phase 2/3 | 2 |
| Phase 3 | 49 |
| Phase 4 | 50 |
| Not applicable | 170 |
| Observational | 120 |
How many Cough trials are recruiting? (9)
Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.
| Status | Trials |
|---|---|
| Not yet recruiting | 25 |
| Recruiting | 54 |
| Enrolling by invitation | 2 |
| Active, not recruiting | 8 |
| Completed | 283 |
Showing 5 of 9 statuses.
Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.
Which lead sponsors run the most Cough 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.
| Sponsor | Trials |
|---|---|
| Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | 11 |
| Bellus Health Inc. - a GSK company | 10 |
| Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | 10 |
| Bayer | 8 |
| Afferent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. (Rahway, New Jersey USA) | 7 |
Showing 5 of 7 sponsors.
Which drugs are being tested for Cough? (8)
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.
| Drug | Trials |
|---|---|
| Gefapixant | 16 |
| Montelukast | 10 |
| BLU-5937 | 10 |
| Remifentanil | 8 |
| Omeprazole 20 mg | 3 |
Showing 5 of 8 drugs.
Interventions as named in the registry (7)
Shown in this order: most trials first.
| Drug | Trials |
|---|---|
| L:Lidocaine | 8 |
| 1% Azithromycin | 4 |
| NAL ER | 4 |
| Capsaicin 8% | 4 |
| Dextromethorphan syrup | 4 |
Showing 5 of 7 interventions.
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 Cough trials report? (10)
Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.
| Adverse event | Subjects affected | Trials |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonia | 21 | 9 |
| Respiratory failure | 8 | 3 |
| Asthma | 7 | 4 |
| Bronchitis | 6 | 4 |
| Cerebrovascular accident | 5 | 4 |
Showing 5 of 10 adverse events.
Which publications cover Cough? (1,073)
Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.
| Publication | Journal | Year | Major topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handgrip strength and the Index of pulmonary dysfunction: Practical screening tools for cough dysfunction in huntington's disease. | Journal of Huntington's disease | 2026 | Yes |
| Validation and accuracy of the Hyfe cough monitoring system: a multicenter clinical study. | Scientific reports | 2025 | Yes |
| The effect of the PechaKucha presentation method on nursing students' deep breathing and coughing exercise skills and their satisfaction with the educational method: a randomized controlled trial. | BMC medical education | 2025 | Yes |
| Predictive value of cough peak flow for successful extubation in mechanically ventilated patients after craniotomy: a single-centre prospective diagnostic study. | BMJ open | 2025 | Yes |
| Association between clinical and pulmonary function features and diagnosis of cough variant asthma: a case-control study. | BMJ open | 2025 | Yes |
Showing 5 of 1,073 publications.
Sub-conditions in MeSH (1)
MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.
Not on this page
Not measured: delivery record.
Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.