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Condition (MeSH)

Metabolic Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 37,643 trials for Metabolic Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. Novo Nordisk A/S has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 854.

MeSH D008659 Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases C18
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Phase 1 Phase 1 3,140 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 853 Phase 2 Phase 2 3,232 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 520 Phase 3 Phase 3 3,520 Phase 4 Phase 4 3,258 Not applicable Not applicable 14,386 Observational Observational 8,636 Phase 1 Phase 1 3,140 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 853 Phase 2 Phase 2 3,232 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 520 Phase 3 Phase 3 3,520 Phase 4 Phase 4 3,258 Not applicable Not applicable 14,386 Observational Observational 8,636

Trials per phase (log scale)

2 more sections with rows

760 of the 37,643 trials are tagged with Metabolic Diseases itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Metabolic 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 Metabolic 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. 68 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: 2,039

1990: 14 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 1) 1991: 16 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 3) 1992: 30 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 1993: 25 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 1994: 26 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 4) 1995: 39 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 9, Phase 1 2) 1996: 38 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 7, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 1) 1997: 43 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 1998: 84 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 11) 1999: 121 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 25, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 20, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 19, Phase 1 21) 2000: 184 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 34, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 41, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 30, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 10) 2001: 246 trials (Observational 59, Not applicable 42, Phase 4 30, Phase 3 50, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 33, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 22) 2002: 349 trials (Observational 40, Not applicable 74, Phase 4 68, Phase 3 82, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 41, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 29) 2003: 513 trials (Other 1, Observational 82, Not applicable 80, Phase 4 107, Phase 3 116, Phase 2/3 19, Phase 2 64, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 32) 2004: 672 trials (Observational 112, Not applicable 141, Phase 4 118, Phase 3 151, Phase 2/3 10, Phase 2 75, Phase 1/2 15, Phase 1 50) 2005: 787 trials (Observational 129, Not applicable 158, Phase 4 134, Phase 3 165, Phase 2/3 16, Phase 2 99, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 60) 2006: 1,015 trials (Other 1, Observational 167, Not applicable 257, Phase 4 140, Phase 3 195, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 123, Phase 1/2 21, Phase 1 86) 2007: 1,167 trials (Other 2, Observational 248, Not applicable 290, Phase 4 145, Phase 3 174, Phase 2/3 29, Phase 2 146, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 107) 2008: 1,293 trials (Other 1, Observational 267, Not applicable 315, Phase 4 171, Phase 3 170, Phase 2/3 34, Phase 2 182, Phase 1/2 33, Phase 1 120) 2009: 1,455 trials (Other 1, Observational 301, Not applicable 431, Phase 4 154, Phase 3 169, Phase 2/3 40, Phase 2 156, Phase 1/2 42, Phase 1 161) 2010: 1,401 trials (Observational 313, Not applicable 419, Phase 4 158, Phase 3 163, Phase 2/3 24, Phase 2 130, Phase 1/2 36, Phase 1 158) 2011: 1,441 trials (Observational 280, Not applicable 473, Phase 4 148, Phase 3 178, Phase 2/3 13, Phase 2 147, Phase 1/2 32, Phase 1 170) 2012: 1,520 trials (Observational 353, Not applicable 524, Phase 4 142, Phase 3 159, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 141, Phase 1/2 29, Phase 1 147) 2013: 1,545 trials (Observational 303, Not applicable 574, Phase 4 150, Phase 3 175, Phase 2/3 11, Phase 2 127, Phase 1/2 42, Phase 1 163) 2014: 1,620 trials (Other 1, Observational 355, Not applicable 623, Phase 4 146, Phase 3 138, Phase 2/3 22, Phase 2 135, Phase 1/2 39, Phase 1 161) 2015: 1,547 trials (Observational 318, Not applicable 622, Phase 4 160, Phase 3 104, Phase 2/3 21, Phase 2 143, Phase 1/2 29, Phase 1 150) 2016: 1,621 trials (Observational 369, Not applicable 663, Phase 4 168, Phase 3 112, Phase 2/3 29, Phase 2 125, Phase 1/2 28, Phase 1 127) 2017: 1,660 trials (Other 1, Observational 404, Not applicable 706, Phase 4 125, Phase 3 112, Phase 2/3 19, Phase 2 116, Phase 1/2 43, Phase 1 134) 2018: 1,709 trials (Observational 385, Not applicable 780, Phase 4 138, Phase 3 106, Phase 2/3 20, Phase 2 135, Phase 1/2 31, Phase 1 114) 2019: 1,858 trials (Other 2, Observational 440, Not applicable 867, Phase 4 112, Phase 3 121, Phase 2/3 23, Phase 2 125, Phase 1/2 48, Phase 1 120) 2020: 1,575 trials (Observational 475, Not applicable 621, Phase 4 96, Phase 3 97, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 117, Phase 1/2 28, Phase 1 123) 2021: 1,939 trials (Observational 501, Not applicable 876, Phase 4 123, Phase 3 134, Phase 2/3 15, Phase 2 132, Phase 1/2 43, Phase 1 115) 2022: 1,922 trials (Observational 513, Not applicable 906, Phase 4 91, Phase 3 110, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 110, Phase 1/2 43, Phase 1 140) 2023: 1,978 trials (Observational 516, Not applicable 954, Phase 4 95, Phase 3 104, Phase 2/3 16, Phase 2 119, Phase 1/2 42, Phase 1 132) 2024: 2,039 trials (Other 1, Observational 514, Not applicable 1,013, Phase 4 99, Phase 3 103, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 96, Phase 1/2 42, Phase 1 153) 2025: 1,935 trials (Observational 478, Not applicable 942, Phase 4 89, Phase 3 94, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 136, Phase 1/2 35, Phase 1 143)

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) 1,754
2025 1,935
2024 2,039
2023 1,978
2022 1,922
2021 1,939
2020 1,575
2019 1,858
2018 1,709
2017 1,660

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 2,654 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 19 months across 24,833 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Metabolic 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 3,140
Phase 1/2 853
Phase 2 3,232
Phase 2/3 520
Phase 3 3,520
Phase 4 3,258
Not applicable 14,386
Observational 8,636
Expanded access 93
Unknown 5

How many Metabolic 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 1,398
Recruiting 3,386
Enrolling by invitation 343
Active, not recruiting 1,221
Available 30

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Metabolic 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
Novo Nordisk A/S 854
AstraZeneca 542
Eli Lilly and Company 382
Sanofi 373
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC 277

Which drugs are being tested for Metabolic Diseases? (9)

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
SITAGLIPTIN 336
ATORVASTATIN 273
Semaglutide 269
BMS-512148 250
LIRAGLUTIDE 241

Interventions as named in the registry (6)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
1% Metformin 875
Glargine Insulin 622
Pioglitazone - TZD 239
Exercise 208
Empagliflozine 204

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 Metabolic 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
Surgical and medical procedures 17,257 4
Acute MI 11,372 1
Pneumonia 11,087 925
Acute Stroke 10,647 1
Heart Failure Hospitalization 10,455 1

Which publications cover Metabolic Diseases? (583)

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

Sub-conditions in MeSH (19)

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