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Condition (MeSH)

Rheumatic Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 10,893 trials for Rheumatic Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. Hoffmann-La Roche has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 199.

MeSH D012216 Musculoskeletal Diseases C05 C17
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Phase 1 Phase 1 684 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 223 Phase 2 Phase 2 1,055 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 147 Phase 3 Phase 3 1,046 Phase 4 Phase 4 898 Not applicable Not applicable 4,292 Observational Observational 2,531 Phase 1 Phase 1 684 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 223 Phase 2 Phase 2 1,055 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 147 Phase 3 Phase 3 1,046 Phase 4 Phase 4 898 Not applicable Not applicable 4,292 Observational Observational 2,531

Trials per phase (log scale)

2 more sections with rows

251 of the 10,893 trials are tagged with Rheumatic Diseases 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 Rheumatic Diseases 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. 20 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: 662

1991: 2 trials (Observational 2) 1992: 1 trials (Observational 1) 1993: 4 trials (Observational 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 1 1) 1994: 5 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 1) 1995: 7 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 1996: 10 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 4) 1997: 17 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1 2) 1998: 23 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2) 1999: 26 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 6) 2000: 47 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 16, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2001: 64 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 19, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1 1) 2002: 92 trials (Observational 20, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 21, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 17, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2003: 134 trials (Observational 23, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 36, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 5) 2004: 198 trials (Observational 33, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 32, Phase 3 39, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 5) 2005: 185 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 22, Phase 3 43, Phase 2 42, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 13) 2006: 258 trials (Observational 42, Not applicable 58, Phase 4 34, Phase 3 53, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 42, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 16) 2007: 280 trials (Observational 52, Not applicable 49, Phase 4 41, Phase 3 63, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 44, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 22) 2008: 291 trials (Observational 56, Not applicable 61, Phase 4 45, Phase 3 43, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 47, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 29) 2009: 359 trials (Other 2, Observational 77, Not applicable 87, Phase 4 38, Phase 3 69, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 49, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 21) 2010: 374 trials (Observational 89, Not applicable 87, Phase 4 54, Phase 3 45, Phase 2/3 8, Phase 2 53, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 32) 2011: 435 trials (Observational 105, Not applicable 111, Phase 4 55, Phase 3 51, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 63, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 34) 2012: 434 trials (Observational 124, Not applicable 113, Phase 4 40, Phase 3 59, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 53, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 31) 2013: 400 trials (Observational 96, Not applicable 132, Phase 4 48, Phase 3 43, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 37, Phase 1/2 15, Phase 1 22) 2014: 445 trials (Observational 94, Not applicable 174, Phase 4 30, Phase 3 50, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 49, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 32) 2015: 476 trials (Other 2, Observational 109, Not applicable 182, Phase 4 43, Phase 3 49, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 38, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 40) 2016: 527 trials (Other 1, Observational 125, Not applicable 214, Phase 4 52, Phase 3 41, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 50, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 31) 2017: 467 trials (Observational 110, Not applicable 210, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 36, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 39, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 30) 2018: 504 trials (Observational 130, Not applicable 234, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 30, Phase 2/3 8, Phase 2 37, Phase 1/2 8, Phase 1 30) 2019: 533 trials (Observational 115, Not applicable 285, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 24, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 36, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 30) 2020: 517 trials (Observational 149, Not applicable 251, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 22, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 35, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 21) 2021: 662 trials (Observational 176, Not applicable 312, Phase 4 27, Phase 3 39, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 47, Phase 1/2 14, Phase 1 41) 2022: 608 trials (Observational 153, Not applicable 316, Phase 4 25, Phase 3 28, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 42, Phase 1/2 16, Phase 1 21) 2023: 622 trials (Observational 159, Not applicable 313, Phase 4 26, Phase 3 35, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 33, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 37) 2024: 610 trials (Observational 142, Not applicable 325, Phase 4 41, Phase 3 26, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 25, Phase 1/2 13, Phase 1 35) 2025: 646 trials (Observational 151, Not applicable 326, Phase 4 36, Phase 3 22, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 45, Phase 1/2 14, Phase 1 46)

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) 543
2025 646
2024 610
2023 622
2022 608
2021 662
2020 517
2019 533
2018 504
2017 467

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 680 trials starting in 2026 and about 630 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 815 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 19 months across 7,011 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Rheumatic Diseases trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 684
Phase 1/2 223
Phase 2 1,055
Phase 2/3 147
Phase 3 1,046
Phase 4 898
Not applicable 4,292
Observational 2,531
Expanded access 14
Unknown 3

How many Rheumatic Diseases 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 455
Recruiting 983
Enrolling by invitation 88
Active, not recruiting 394
Available 2

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Rheumatic 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
Hoffmann-La Roche 199
Pfizer 181
Zimmer Biomet 124
Bristol-Myers Squibb 95
Amgen 81

Which drugs are being tested for Rheumatic Diseases? (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
INFLIXIMAB 69
RITUXIMAB 68
(CP-6890,550) Tofacitinib 67
Certolizumab 50

Interventions as named in the registry (11)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
HD- Methotrexate (MTX) 291
Adalimumab-US 138
tocilizumab SC 129
1=Etanercept 118
Exercise 98

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 Rheumatic 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 3,463 375
Osteoarthritis 2,631 249
Invasive cancer of any type 1,617 1
Rheumatoid arthritis 1,367 203
Myocardial infarction 1,229 201

Which publications cover Rheumatic Diseases? (373)

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

Sub-conditions in MeSH (7)

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