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Condition (MeSH)

Multiple Sclerosis

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 3,541 trials for Multiple Sclerosis or a narrower condition beneath it. Biogen has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 160.

MeSH D009103 Nervous System Diseases C10 C20 Listed by Orphanet as a rare disease
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Phase 1 Phase 1 225 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 102 Phase 2 Phase 2 328 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 42 Phase 3 Phase 3 271 Phase 4 Phase 4 216 Not applicable Not applicable 1,300 Observational Observational 1,052 Phase 1 Phase 1 225 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 102 Phase 2 Phase 2 328 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 42 Phase 3 Phase 3 271 Phase 4 Phase 4 216 Not applicable Not applicable 1,300 Observational Observational 1,052

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

3,140 of the 3,541 trials are tagged with Multiple Sclerosis itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Multiple Sclerosis 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 Multiple Sclerosis 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. 6 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: 248

1991: 2 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1) 1992: 1 trials (Observational 1) 1993: 1 trials (Phase 3 1) 1994: 1 trials (Phase 4 1) 1995: 3 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 1 1) 1996: 2 trials (Observational 2) 1997: 2 trials (Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 1998: 3 trials (Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 1999: 11 trials (Observational 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1) 2000: 2 trials (Observational 2) 2001: 17 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2002: 25 trials (Observational 3, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 3) 2003: 41 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 4) 2004: 39 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 3, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 1) 2005: 51 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2006: 70 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 3) 2007: 70 trials (Observational 20, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 5) 2008: 78 trials (Observational 26, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 7) 2009: 85 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 9) 2010: 109 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 20, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 13) 2011: 104 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 24, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 6) 2012: 128 trials (Observational 45, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 13, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 8) 2013: 140 trials (Observational 32, Not applicable 41, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 8) 2014: 156 trials (Observational 40, Not applicable 60, Phase 4 16, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 10) 2015: 152 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 48, Phase 4 16, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 15) 2016: 138 trials (Observational 36, Not applicable 58, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 10) 2017: 164 trials (Observational 48, Not applicable 71, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 8) 2018: 192 trials (Observational 54, Not applicable 96, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 13, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 8) 2019: 212 trials (Observational 67, Not applicable 95, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 12) 2020: 195 trials (Observational 66, Not applicable 87, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 10) 2021: 248 trials (Observational 104, Not applicable 92, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 15) 2022: 195 trials (Observational 68, Not applicable 88, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 5) 2023: 243 trials (Observational 75, Not applicable 136, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 7, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 8) 2024: 216 trials (Observational 72, Not applicable 105, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 17) 2025: 204 trials (Observational 54, Not applicable 108, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 15)

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) 216
2025 204
2024 216
2023 243
2022 195
2021 248
2020 195
2019 212
2018 192
2017 164

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 250 trials starting in 2026 and about 220 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 304 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 22 months across 2,240 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Multiple Sclerosis trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 225
Phase 1/2 102
Phase 2 328
Phase 2/3 42
Phase 3 271
Phase 4 216
Not applicable 1,300
Observational 1,052
Expanded access 5

How many Multiple Sclerosis 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 158
Recruiting 372
Enrolling by invitation 47
Active, not recruiting 152
Available 1

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Multiple Sclerosis trials? (7)

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
Biogen 160
Novartis Pharmaceuticals 92
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany 49
Bayer 47
Hoffmann-La Roche 34

Which drugs are being tested for Multiple Sclerosis? (2)

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
Dimethyl Fumarate 60
METHYLPREDNISOLONE 35

Interventions as named in the registry (13)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
SC interferon beta-1a 80
Ocrelizumab SC 72
fingolimob (FTY) 55
SC interferon beta-1b 50
natalizumab SC 49

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 Multiple Sclerosis 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
Multiple sclerosis relapse 1,787 88
Multiple Sclerosis Relapse 664 29
Urinary tract infection 376 76
Pneumonia 321 90
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS RELAPSE 282 12

Which publications cover Multiple Sclerosis? (3,232)

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

Sub-conditions in MeSH (2)

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