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Condition (MeSH)

Motor Neuron Disease

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1,346 trials for Motor Neuron Disease or a narrower condition beneath it. Biogen has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 36.

MeSH D016472 Nervous System Diseases C10 Listed by Orphanet as a rare disease
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Phase 1 Phase 1 148 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 92 Phase 2 Phase 2 206 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 43 Phase 3 Phase 3 80 Phase 4 Phase 4 18 Not applicable Not applicable 334 Observational Observational 408 Phase 1 Phase 1 148 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 92 Phase 2 Phase 2 206 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 43 Phase 3 Phase 3 80 Phase 4 Phase 4 18 Not applicable Not applicable 334 Observational Observational 408

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

201 of the 1,346 trials are tagged with Motor Neuron Disease itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

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When did Motor Neuron Disease trials start? (31)

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. 3 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: 106

1991: 1 trials (Observational 1) 1992: 1 trials (Phase 2 1) 1996: 3 trials (Observational 3) 1998: 2 trials (Observational 2) 2000: 2 trials (Observational 2) 2001: 6 trials (Observational 3, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 2002: 6 trials (Observational 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2) 2003: 9 trials (Observational 2, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 1) 2004: 11 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 2, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 2) 2005: 15 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 2) 2006: 22 trials (Observational 9, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 1) 2007: 26 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 2) 2008: 36 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 3) 2009: 30 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 6, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 2) 2010: 21 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 7, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 5) 2011: 32 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 7) 2012: 39 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 9, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 4) 2013: 47 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2014: 43 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 10, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 8) 2015: 61 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 15, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 9) 2016: 52 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 11, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 9) 2017: 72 trials (Observational 24, Not applicable 23, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 11, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 7) 2018: 56 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 15, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 4) 2019: 72 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 10) 2020: 69 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 15, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 9, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 4) 2021: 97 trials (Observational 32, Not applicable 24, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 11, Phase 2 16, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 9) 2022: 88 trials (Observational 28, Not applicable 28, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 10) 2023: 83 trials (Observational 28, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 10) 2024: 106 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 11, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 14) 2025: 106 trials (Observational 24, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 6, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 16)

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) 105
2025 106
2024 106
2023 83
2022 88
2021 97
2020 69
2019 72
2018 56
2017 72

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 130 trials starting in 2026 and about 110 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 15 percent and ran about 1 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 26 percent and ran about 20 percent low against the count later registered. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. 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 169 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 25 months across 700 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Motor Neuron Disease trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 148
Phase 1/2 92
Phase 2 206
Phase 2/3 43
Phase 3 80
Phase 4 18
Not applicable 334
Observational 408
Expanded access 17

How many Motor Neuron Disease 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 69
Recruiting 240
Enrolling by invitation 22
Active, not recruiting 82
Available 3

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Motor Neuron Disease 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
Biogen 36
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) 26
Novartis Pharmaceuticals 20
Hoffmann-La Roche 19
Cytokinetics 10

Which drugs are being tested for Motor Neuron Disease? (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
Nusinersen 25
Riluzole 25
Risdiplam 18
Dexpramipexole 9
Edaravone 7

Interventions as named in the registry (6)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
MRI 9
Lumbar puncture 7
AMX0035 7
Onasemnogene Abeparvovec-xioi 6
CNM-Au8 5

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 Motor Neuron Disease 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 499 67
Respiratory failure 473 57
Dysphagia 253 43
RESPIRATORY FAILURE 209 5
Pneumonia aspiration 182 51

Which publications cover Motor Neuron Disease? (135)

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

Rare-disease identity (2)

Shown in this order: exact, broader, narrower, other.

Rare-disease identity
Orphanet disease ORPHA code Relation Source
Motor neuron disease 98503 Exact Orphadata Science knowledge files, Product 1
Motor neuron disease 98503 Exact Orphanet Rare Disease Ontology (ORDO)

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.

Browse all condition evidence pages