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Condition (MeSH)

Major Depressive Disorder

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 2,960 trials for Major Depressive Disorder or a narrower condition beneath it. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 65.

MeSH D003865 Mental Disorders F03
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Phase 1 Phase 1 184 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 56 Phase 2 Phase 2 398 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 50 Phase 3 Phase 3 388 Phase 4 Phase 4 333 Not applicable Not applicable 1,146 Observational Observational 403 Phase 1 Phase 1 184 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 56 Phase 2 Phase 2 398 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 50 Phase 3 Phase 3 388 Phase 4 Phase 4 333 Not applicable Not applicable 1,146 Observational Observational 403

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

2,960 of the 2,960 trials are tagged with Major Depressive Disorder 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 Major Depressive Disorder trials start? (34)

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. 9 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: 177

1990: 1 trials (Phase 4 1) 1994: 4 trials (Observational 2, Phase 4 1, Phase 1/2 1) 1995: 3 trials (Observational 2, Phase 4 1) 1996: 3 trials (Observational 1, Phase 4 2) 1997: 2 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1) 1998: 10 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1) 1999: 7 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 2 2) 2000: 10 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 2) 2001: 21 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2002: 40 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 16, Phase 2 4) 2003: 37 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 1) 2004: 59 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 16, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 1) 2005: 76 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 16, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 3) 2006: 88 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 27, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2007: 97 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 20, Phase 4 24, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 8) 2008: 103 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 24, Phase 1 1) 2009: 96 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 21, Phase 4 21, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2010: 111 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 22, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 24, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 17) 2011: 142 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 41, Phase 4 19, Phase 3 29, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 16) 2012: 123 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 42, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 11) 2013: 96 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 39, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 13, Phase 1 2) 2014: 103 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 41, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 5) 2015: 110 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 45, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 7) 2016: 126 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 58, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 10) 2017: 107 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 50, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2018: 107 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 43, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 13) 2019: 135 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 59, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 11) 2020: 128 trials (Observational 28, Not applicable 53, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 12, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 6) 2021: 175 trials (Observational 24, Not applicable 84, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 23, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 11) 2022: 152 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 78, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 12) 2023: 150 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 74, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 8, Phase 2 20, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 8) 2024: 163 trials (Observational 23, Not applicable 78, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 31, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 7) 2025: 177 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 92, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 24, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 11)

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) 172
2025 177
2024 163
2023 150
2022 152
2021 175
2020 128
2019 135
2018 107
2017 107

Showing 10 of 34 earlier years.

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Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 190 trials starting in 2026 and about 180 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 305 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 25 months across 1,901 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Major Depressive Disorder trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 184
Phase 1/2 56
Phase 2 398
Phase 2/3 50
Phase 3 388
Phase 4 333
Not applicable 1,146
Observational 403
Expanded access 2

How many Major Depressive Disorder trials are recruiting? (11)

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 124
Recruiting 338
Enrolling by invitation 29
Active, not recruiting 71
Completed 1,785

Showing 5 of 11 statuses.

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Major Depressive Disorder trials? (8)

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
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 65
Eli Lilly and Company 57
Janssen Research & Development, LLC 38
H. Lundbeck A/S 35
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. 35

Showing 5 of 8 sponsors.

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Which drugs are being tested for Major Depressive Disorder? (4)

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
PMI-150 (intranasal ketamine) 103
Duloxetine 69
Vortioxetine 62
Citalopram 27

Interventions as named in the registry (11)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Escitalopram Pill 130
Sertralin 56
Prozac Pulvules 40 mg 47
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation 46
Treatment As Usual 45

Showing 5 of 11 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 Major Depressive Disorder 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
Psychiatric hospitalization 258 1
Agitation 215 8
Suicidal ideation 209 74
Hospitalization 182 8
Medical hospitalization 169 1

Showing 5 of 10 adverse events.

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Which publications cover Major Depressive Disorder? (4,246)

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

Publications
Publication Journal Year Major topic
Effect of Esketamine on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder at Imminent Suicide Risk: A Randomized Psychoactive-Controlled Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2026 Yes
Predictive value of subgenual cingulate normative connectivity to TMS treatment site for antidepressant response in routine clinical practice: a prospective, multisite cohort study. Molecular psychiatry 2026 Yes
Real-time EEG-triggered transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with group therapy for adolescents with depression and self-harm behavior: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of affective disorders 2026 Yes
Emotion regulation as mechanism of change in the treatment of depression - A latent change score analysis. Journal of affective disorders 2026 Yes
Characterizing the spectrum of distress symptoms in midlife women with perimenopausal depression. Journal of affective disorders 2026 Yes

Showing 5 of 4,246 publications.

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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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