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Condition (MeSH)

Osteoarthritis

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 5,594 trials for Osteoarthritis or a narrower condition beneath it. Zimmer Biomet has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 113.

MeSH D010003 Musculoskeletal Diseases C05
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Phase 1 Phase 1 215 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 115 Phase 2 Phase 2 379 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 76 Phase 3 Phase 3 418 Phase 4 Phase 4 472 Not applicable Not applicable 2,855 Observational Observational 1,059 Phase 1 Phase 1 215 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 115 Phase 2 Phase 2 379 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 76 Phase 3 Phase 3 418 Phase 4 Phase 4 472 Not applicable Not applicable 2,855 Observational Observational 1,059

Trials per phase (log scale)

2 more sections with rows

2,687 of the 5,594 trials are tagged with Osteoarthritis itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Osteoarthritis 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 Osteoarthritis trials start? (34)

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. 11 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 (Unknown)

Top of scale: 356

1991: 1 trials (Observational 1) 1993: 2 trials (Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1) 1995: 3 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 1, Phase 2 1) 1996: 4 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 3 3) 1997: 8 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 1998: 11 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 1) 1999: 12 trials (Not applicable 4, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 5) 2000: 17 trials (Not applicable 4, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 7, Phase 2 1) 2001: 31 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 2) 2002: 42 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 9, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2003: 69 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 20, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 2) 2004: 106 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 27, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 22, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 2) 2005: 78 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 19, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 12, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 6) 2006: 121 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 43, Phase 4 21, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 10) 2007: 135 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 32, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 28, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 11) 2008: 125 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 44, Phase 4 20, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 9) 2009: 146 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 54, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 24, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 3) 2010: 157 trials (Observational 31, Not applicable 58, Phase 4 19, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 9) 2011: 192 trials (Observational 38, Not applicable 82, Phase 4 23, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 6) 2012: 194 trials (Observational 49, Not applicable 82, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 8) 2013: 201 trials (Observational 55, Not applicable 84, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 3) 2014: 237 trials (Observational 42, Not applicable 119, Phase 4 21, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 10) 2015: 262 trials (Other 2, Observational 49, Not applicable 123, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 24, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 14) 2016: 289 trials (Other 1, Observational 60, Not applicable 144, Phase 4 33, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 9) 2017: 270 trials (Observational 59, Not applicable 140, Phase 4 13, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 9) 2018: 292 trials (Observational 57, Not applicable 167, Phase 4 13, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 15) 2019: 291 trials (Observational 53, Not applicable 179, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 11) 2020: 274 trials (Observational 51, Not applicable 159, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 11) 2021: 354 trials (Observational 71, Not applicable 205, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 15) 2022: 336 trials (Observational 60, Not applicable 217, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 7) 2023: 356 trials (Observational 75, Not applicable 219, Phase 4 17, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 11) 2024: 317 trials (Observational 55, Not applicable 197, Phase 4 23, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 12) 2025: 342 trials (Observational 62, Not applicable 208, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 18, Phase 1/2 6, 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) 275
2025 342
2024 317
2023 356
2022 336
2021 354
2020 274
2019 291
2018 292
2017 270

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 330 trials starting in 2026 and about 330 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 430 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 18 months across 3,556 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Osteoarthritis trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 215
Phase 1/2 115
Phase 2 379
Phase 2/3 76
Phase 3 418
Phase 4 472
Not applicable 2,855
Observational 1,059
Expanded access 2
Unknown 3

How many Osteoarthritis trials are recruiting? (10)

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 242
Recruiting 485
Enrolling by invitation 40
Active, not recruiting 255
Completed 3,154

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Osteoarthritis trials? (5)

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
Zimmer Biomet 113
Pfizer 40
DePuy International 36
Smith & Nephew, Inc. 34
DePuy Orthopaedics 32

Which drugs are being tested for Osteoarthritis? (4)

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
+/- Bupivacaine HCl 28
Hylan G-F 20 26
Duloxetine 25
Corticosteroid 24

Interventions as named in the registry (11)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
[PRP] platelet rich plasma 78
Exercise 67
Hyaluronic acid 1% 61
total knee arthroplasty 57
"celecoxib", "Celebrex®" 54

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 Osteoarthritis 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
Invasive cancer of any type 1,617 1
Major cardiovascular event 805 1
Osteoarthritis 746 65
Gastrointestinal bleeding 744 1
Myocardial infarction 425 46

Which publications cover Osteoarthritis? (1,816)

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

Sub-conditions in MeSH (3)

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