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Condition (MeSH)

Epilepsy

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 2,294 trials for Epilepsy or a narrower condition beneath it. UCB Pharma has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 67.

MeSH D004827 Nervous System Diseases C10
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Phase 1 Phase 1 168 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 41 Phase 2 Phase 2 219 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 33 Phase 3 Phase 3 316 Phase 4 Phase 4 159 Not applicable Not applicable 696 Observational Observational 640 Phase 1 Phase 1 168 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 41 Phase 2 Phase 2 219 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 33 Phase 3 Phase 3 316 Phase 4 Phase 4 159 Not applicable Not applicable 696 Observational Observational 640

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

1,799 of the 2,294 trials are tagged with Epilepsy 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 Epilepsy trials start? (36)

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
  • Other (Expanded access)

Top of scale: 159

1991: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 1992: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 1993: 4 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 1) 1994: 5 trials (Observational 2, Phase 3 3) 1995: 2 trials (Phase 3 2) 1996: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 1 1) 1997: 6 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 1998: 7 trials (Observational 3, Phase 3 4) 1999: 5 trials (Observational 2, Phase 3 3) 2000: 15 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 2) 2001: 19 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 3) 2002: 32 trials (Observational 7, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 7, Phase 1 5) 2003: 29 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 1) 2004: 40 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 15, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2005: 57 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 11, Phase 1 8) 2006: 67 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 23, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2007: 69 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 20, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 11) 2008: 60 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 20, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 9) 2009: 57 trials (Other 1, Observational 16, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1 4) 2010: 73 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 17, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 6) 2011: 87 trials (Observational 32, Not applicable 12, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 18, Phase 2 11, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 8) 2012: 63 trials (Other 1, Observational 16, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2013: 71 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 24, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 7) 2014: 74 trials (Other 1, Observational 15, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 11, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2015: 100 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 32, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 16, Phase 2 9, Phase 1 5) 2016: 94 trials (Observational 26, Not applicable 33, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 3) 2017: 92 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 36, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2018: 119 trials (Observational 34, Not applicable 40, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 20, Phase 1 6) 2019: 109 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 39, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2020: 96 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 42, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 5) 2021: 138 trials (Observational 39, Not applicable 65, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 8) 2022: 140 trials (Observational 49, Not applicable 44, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 8) 2023: 137 trials (Observational 46, Not applicable 63, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 6) 2024: 159 trials (Observational 46, Not applicable 64, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 12) 2025: 127 trials (Observational 36, Not applicable 57, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 11, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 10)

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) 99
2025 127
2024 159
2023 137
2022 140
2021 138
2020 96
2019 109
2018 119
2017 92

Showing 10 of 36 earlier years.

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Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 110 trials starting in 2026 and about 130 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 217 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 24 months across 1,303 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Epilepsy trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 168
Phase 1/2 41
Phase 2 219
Phase 2/3 33
Phase 3 316
Phase 4 159
Not applicable 696
Observational 640
Expanded access 22

How many Epilepsy 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 90
Recruiting 309
Enrolling by invitation 44
Active, not recruiting 76
Available 6

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 Epilepsy trials? (9)

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
UCB Pharma 67
GlaxoSmithKline 57
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) 49
Bial - Portela C S.A. 45
Eisai Inc. 30

Showing 5 of 9 sponsors.

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Which drugs are being tested for Epilepsy? (6)

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
Perampanel 40
Cannabidiol 39
Pregabalin 28
Carbamazepine 22
Phenytoin 16

Showing 5 of 6 drugs.

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Interventions as named in the registry (9)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Levetiracetam XR 91
Lacosamide (LCM) syrup 54
eslicarbacepine 48
Lamotrigine use 47
Brivaracetam bolus 41

Showing 5 of 9 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 Epilepsy 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
Convulsion 645 91
Status epilepticus 485 112
Pneumonia 422 107
Seizure 331 54
Epilepsy 235 77

Showing 5 of 10 adverse events.

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Which publications cover Epilepsy? (1,829)

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

Publications
Publication Journal Year Major topic
Antiseizure Medication Dosing Strategy During Pregnancy and Early Postpartum in Women With Epilepsy in MONEAD. Neurology 2026 Yes
The UMPIRE study: A first-in-human multicenter trial of bilateral subscalp monitoring for epileptic seizure detection. Epilepsia 2025 Yes
Neuropsychological Outcomes in 6-Year-Old Children of Women With Epilepsy: A Prospective Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA neurology 2025 Yes
Phenotype Spectrum of TRPM3-Associated Disorders. Annals of neurology 2025 Yes
Higher plasma total tau concentrations among patients reporting CNS-related side effects from antiseizure medication. Seizure 2025 Yes

Showing 5 of 1,829 publications.

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Sub-conditions in MeSH (8)

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.

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