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Condition (MeSH)

Depressive Disorder

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 4,491 trials for Depressive Disorder or a narrower condition beneath it. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 82.

MeSH D003866 Mental Disorders F03
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Phase 1 Phase 1 263 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 70 Phase 2 Phase 2 509 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 71 Phase 3 Phase 3 461 Phase 4 Phase 4 433 Not applicable Not applicable 2,013 Observational Observational 666 Phase 1 Phase 1 263 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 70 Phase 2 Phase 2 509 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 71 Phase 3 Phase 3 461 Phase 4 Phase 4 433 Not applicable Not applicable 2,013 Observational Observational 666

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

888 of the 4,491 trials are tagged with Depressive Disorder itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Depressive Disorder report as a PDF

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 Depressive Disorder trials start? (35)

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. 16 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: 304

1990: 1 trials (Phase 4 1) 1991: 1 trials (Observational 1) 1994: 5 trials (Observational 3, Phase 4 1, Phase 1/2 1) 1995: 7 trials (Observational 4, Phase 4 1, Phase 2 2) 1996: 5 trials (Observational 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 2 2) 1997: 6 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2) 1998: 13 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1) 1999: 11 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 4, Phase 2 2) 2000: 19 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 4, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 2001: 35 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2002: 52 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 11, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2003: 48 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 1) 2004: 84 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 23, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2005: 104 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 28, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 4) 2006: 120 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 24, Phase 3 33, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 11) 2007: 121 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 28, Phase 4 28, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 13) 2008: 130 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 41, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 25, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2009: 129 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 30, Phase 4 24, Phase 3 22, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 13) 2010: 148 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 26, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 20, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 20) 2011: 169 trials (Observational 24, Not applicable 55, Phase 4 23, Phase 3 29, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 16) 2012: 151 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 56, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 14) 2013: 129 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 59, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2014: 139 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 60, Phase 4 21, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 6) 2015: 159 trials (Observational 26, Not applicable 66, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 17, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 11) 2016: 174 trials (Observational 25, Not applicable 88, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 11) 2017: 177 trials (Observational 25, Not applicable 96, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 10) 2018: 180 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 88, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 18) 2019: 227 trials (Observational 38, Not applicable 117, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 13) 2020: 226 trials (Observational 58, Not applicable 106, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 16, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 8) 2021: 287 trials (Observational 39, Not applicable 162, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 28, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 15) 2022: 254 trials (Observational 37, Not applicable 146, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 16) 2023: 274 trials (Observational 51, Not applicable 152, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 32, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 15) 2024: 282 trials (Observational 50, Not applicable 158, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 35, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 10) 2025: 304 trials (Observational 47, Not applicable 175, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 29, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 16)

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) 280
2025 304
2024 282
2023 274
2022 254
2021 287
2020 226
2019 227
2018 180
2017 177

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 320 trials starting in 2026 and about 300 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 487 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 24 months across 2,793 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are 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 1 263
Phase 1/2 70
Phase 2 509
Phase 2/3 71
Phase 3 461
Phase 4 433
Not applicable 2,013
Observational 666
Expanded access 5

How many Depressive Disorder 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 212
Recruiting 546
Enrolling by invitation 45
Active, not recruiting 133
Available 1

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

Which lead sponsors run the most 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) 82
GlaxoSmithKline 68
Eli Lilly and Company 60
Janssen Research & Development, LLC 53
VA Office of Research and Development 39

Which drugs are being tested for Depressive Disorder? (5)

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) 146
Duloxetine 85
Vortioxetine 64
Esketamine 42
Citalopram 41

Interventions as named in the registry (10)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Escitalopram Pill 153
Sertralin 80
Treatment As Usual 73
Prozac Pulvules 40 mg 59
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation 55

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 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
Suicidal ideation 250 82
Agitation 217 10
Depression 211 83
Suicide attempt 200 83

Which publications cover Depressive Disorder? (3,787)

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

Sub-conditions in MeSH (7)

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.

Browse all condition evidence pages