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Condition (MeSH)

Lung Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 39,862 trials for Lung Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. AstraZeneca has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 822.

MeSH D008171 Respiratory Tract Diseases C08
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Phase 1 Phase 1 3,663 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 1,621 Phase 2 Phase 2 6,378 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 663 Phase 3 Phase 3 3,727 Phase 4 Phase 4 1,928 Not applicable Not applicable 10,057 Observational Observational 11,713 Phase 1 Phase 1 3,663 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 1,621 Phase 2 Phase 2 6,378 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 663 Phase 3 Phase 3 3,727 Phase 4 Phase 4 1,928 Not applicable Not applicable 10,057 Observational Observational 11,713

Trials per phase

2 more sections with rows

1,150 of the 39,862 trials are tagged with Lung Diseases itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Lung Diseases 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 Lung 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. 63 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, Unknown)

Top of scale: 5,097

1990: 24 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 3) 1991: 13 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 1) 1992: 17 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 1993: 29 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 7, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 3) 1994: 27 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 3, Phase 3 8, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 1) 1995: 48 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 7) 1996: 48 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 4) 1997: 50 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 12, Phase 2 11, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 9) 1998: 121 trials (Observational 23, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 36, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 31, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 11) 1999: 146 trials (Observational 42, Not applicable 12, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 27, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 16) 2000: 193 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 46, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 47, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 21) 2001: 223 trials (Observational 43, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 46, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 62, Phase 1/2 13, Phase 1 16) 2002: 314 trials (Observational 39, Not applicable 35, Phase 4 34, Phase 3 87, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 87, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 19) 2003: 419 trials (Observational 50, Not applicable 58, Phase 4 38, Phase 3 89, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 120, Phase 1/2 30, Phase 1 28) 2004: 511 trials (Observational 92, Not applicable 74, Phase 4 52, Phase 3 82, Phase 2/3 13, Phase 2 129, Phase 1/2 19, Phase 1 50) 2005: 638 trials (Observational 135, Not applicable 90, Phase 4 54, Phase 3 99, Phase 2/3 16, Phase 2 169, Phase 1/2 19, Phase 1 56) 2006: 824 trials (Observational 147, Not applicable 124, Phase 4 85, Phase 3 129, Phase 2/3 19, Phase 2 214, Phase 1/2 34, Phase 1 72) 2007: 895 trials (Other 1, Observational 205, Not applicable 128, Phase 4 85, Phase 3 126, Phase 2/3 13, Phase 2 206, Phase 1/2 31, Phase 1 100) 2008: 981 trials (Observational 189, Not applicable 162, Phase 4 85, Phase 3 127, Phase 2/3 13, Phase 2 244, Phase 1/2 47, Phase 1 114) 2009: 1,042 trials (Observational 246, Not applicable 212, Phase 4 73, Phase 3 125, Phase 2/3 23, Phase 2 209, Phase 1/2 32, Phase 1 122) 2010: 1,075 trials (Observational 282, Not applicable 206, Phase 4 72, Phase 3 117, Phase 2/3 11, Phase 2 213, Phase 1/2 43, Phase 1 131) 2011: 1,105 trials (Observational 284, Not applicable 252, Phase 4 79, Phase 3 140, Phase 2/3 21, Phase 2 188, Phase 1/2 32, Phase 1 109) 2012: 1,171 trials (Other 1, Observational 304, Not applicable 290, Phase 4 82, Phase 3 129, Phase 2/3 15, Phase 2 214, Phase 1/2 41, Phase 1 95) 2013: 1,112 trials (Observational 294, Not applicable 277, Phase 4 67, Phase 3 123, Phase 2/3 14, Phase 2 182, Phase 1/2 36, Phase 1 119) 2014: 1,175 trials (Observational 300, Not applicable 333, Phase 4 87, Phase 3 112, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 161, Phase 1/2 48, Phase 1 116) 2015: 1,356 trials (Observational 345, Not applicable 370, Phase 4 82, Phase 3 126, Phase 2/3 19, Phase 2 205, Phase 1/2 63, Phase 1 146) 2016: 1,464 trials (Observational 387, Not applicable 435, Phase 4 93, Phase 3 119, Phase 2/3 13, Phase 2 188, Phase 1/2 71, Phase 1 158) 2017: 1,572 trials (Other 2, Observational 486, Not applicable 427, Phase 4 79, Phase 3 110, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 217, Phase 1/2 78, Phase 1 155) 2018: 1,526 trials (Observational 449, Not applicable 467, Phase 4 56, Phase 3 114, Phase 2/3 13, Phase 2 209, Phase 1/2 69, Phase 1 149) 2019: 1,605 trials (Other 1, Observational 500, Not applicable 472, Phase 4 61, Phase 3 105, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 222, Phase 1/2 71, Phase 1 164) 2020: 5,097 trials (Other 2, Observational 2,198, Not applicable 1,038, Phase 4 133, Phase 3 414, Phase 2/3 143, Phase 2 684, Phase 1/2 180, Phase 1 305) 2021: 3,837 trials (Observational 1,347, Not applicable 1,001, Phase 4 158, Phase 3 286, Phase 2/3 99, Phase 2 486, Phase 1/2 159, Phase 1 301) 2022: 2,624 trials (Observational 826, Not applicable 794, Phase 4 65, Phase 3 176, Phase 2/3 45, Phase 2 349, Phase 1/2 110, Phase 1 259) 2023: 2,361 trials (Observational 715, Not applicable 788, Phase 4 67, Phase 3 141, Phase 2/3 39, Phase 2 301, Phase 1/2 96, Phase 1 214) 2024: 2,161 trials (Observational 630, Not applicable 716, Phase 4 68, Phase 3 137, Phase 2/3 17, Phase 2 299, Phase 1/2 83, Phase 1 211) 2025: 1,883 trials (Observational 545, Not applicable 544, Phase 4 51, Phase 3 129, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 314, Phase 1/2 81, Phase 1 194)

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) 1,756
2025 1,883
2024 2,161
2023 2,361
2022 2,624
2021 3,837
2020 5,097
2019 1,605
2018 1,526
2017 1,572

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 2,200 trials starting in 2026 and about 2,000 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 10 percent and ran about 4 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 25 percent and ran about 15 percent low against the count later registered, and had about 7 percent more error than repeating last year's count. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. A stricter check that trains only on older years did not support adding planned starts for conditions of this size: it ran about 6 percent high against the count later registered. 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 3,409 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 19 months across 24,537 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Lung Diseases trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 3,663
Phase 1/2 1,621
Phase 2 6,378
Phase 2/3 663
Phase 3 3,727
Phase 4 1,928
Not applicable 10,057
Observational 11,713
Expanded access 106
Unknown 6

How many Lung Diseases trials are recruiting? (13)

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 1,478
Recruiting 4,023
Enrolling by invitation 204
Active, not recruiting 1,550
Available 18

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Lung Diseases trials? (10)

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
AstraZeneca 822
GlaxoSmithKline 657
Boehringer Ingelheim 459
Novartis Pharmaceuticals 340
National Cancer Institute (NCI) 334

Which drugs are being tested for Lung Diseases? (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
PEMBROLIZUMAB 484
(nab)-paclitaxel 460
NIVOLUMAB 253
DURVALUMAB 212
Osimertinib 184

Interventions as named in the registry (10)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
or carboplatin 806
Cisplatin 1 555
Pemetrexe 484
Docetetaxel 392
Gemcitabine/Gemzar 298

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 Lung 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 22,027 1,728
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 16,553 701
Dyspnoea 6,526 964
Malignant neoplasm progression 6,335 164
Respiratory failure 6,196 973

Which publications cover Lung Diseases? (1,771)

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

Sub-conditions in MeSH (28)

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

+18 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