Skip to content
Pharma Observatory a Scientist.com platform

Condition (MeSH)

Headache Disorders

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 2,121 trials for Headache Disorders or a narrower condition beneath it. Pfizer has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 42.

MeSH D020773 Nervous System Diseases C10
Email me this page as a PDF

Search trials, drugs, companies and investigators, and follow each one to the others. Individual plan, $249/seat/mo. Card required.

Phase 1 Phase 1 114 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 27 Phase 2 Phase 2 176 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 29 Phase 3 Phase 3 259 Phase 4 Phase 4 198 Not applicable Not applicable 881 Observational Observational 434 Phase 1 Phase 1 114 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 27 Phase 2 Phase 2 176 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 29 Phase 3 Phase 3 259 Phase 4 Phase 4 198 Not applicable Not applicable 881 Observational Observational 434

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

142 of the 2,121 trials are tagged with Headache Disorders itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Headache Disorders 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 Headache Disorders 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. 7 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: 160

1994: 1 trials (Phase 1 1) 1995: 5 trials (Phase 3 5) 1998: 2 trials (Phase 3 2) 1999: 3 trials (Not applicable 2, Phase 2 1) 2000: 4 trials (Observational 2, Phase 3 2) 2001: 8 trials (Observational 2, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1) 2002: 9 trials (Not applicable 4, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2) 2003: 21 trials (Not applicable 4, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 1) 2004: 38 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 1) 2005: 32 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 11, Phase 2 8, Phase 1 2) 2006: 62 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2007: 49 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 9, Phase 1 5) 2008: 52 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 11, Phase 1 11) 2009: 60 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 10, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2010: 45 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2011: 48 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 21, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 4) 2012: 71 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 27, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2013: 46 trials (Observational 4, Not applicable 23, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2014: 57 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 22, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2015: 90 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 42, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2016: 101 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 7) 2017: 103 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 44, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 9) 2018: 93 trials (Observational 20, Not applicable 41, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 2019: 117 trials (Observational 23, Not applicable 42, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 17, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 9) 2020: 112 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 50, Phase 4 18, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2021: 132 trials (Observational 31, Not applicable 60, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1 5) 2022: 152 trials (Observational 34, Not applicable 75, Phase 4 15, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2023: 149 trials (Observational 45, Not applicable 76, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 7) 2024: 145 trials (Observational 54, Not applicable 63, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 7, Phase 2 7, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 4) 2025: 160 trials (Observational 37, Not applicable 93, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 7, Phase 1 5)

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) 141
2025 160
2024 145
2023 149
2022 152
2021 132
2020 112
2019 117
2018 93
2017 103

Showing 10 of 31 earlier years.

Start your 14-day trial Email me all 31 earlier years as a PDF

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 160 trials starting in 2026 and about 160 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 167 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 15 months across 1,349 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Headache Disorders trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 114
Phase 1/2 27
Phase 2 176
Phase 2/3 29
Phase 3 259
Phase 4 198
Not applicable 881
Observational 434
Expanded access 3

How many Headache Disorders trials are recruiting? (11)

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 112
Recruiting 203
Enrolling by invitation 25
Active, not recruiting 48
Available 2

Showing 5 of 11 statuses.

Start your 14-day trial Email me all 11 statuses as a PDF

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Headache Disorders trials? (8)

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
Pfizer 42
Eli Lilly and Company 33
GlaxoSmithKline 31
Allergan 25
Amgen 22

Showing 5 of 8 sponsors.

Start your 14-day trial Email me all 8 sponsors as a PDF

Which drugs are being tested for Headache Disorders? (7)

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
Eptinezumab 25
Galcanezumab 24
Fremanezumab 23
Atogepant 19
Amitriptyline 15

Showing 5 of 7 drugs.

Start your 14-day trial Email me all 7 drugs as a PDF

Interventions as named in the registry (8)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Topiramate IR 50
Sumatriptan 5% 47
Erenumab PFS 42
Rimegepant/BHV3000 37
type A botulinum toxin 32

Showing 5 of 8 interventions.

Start your 14-day trial Email me all 8 interventions as a PDF

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 Headache Disorders 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
Migraine 110 47
Appendicitis 56 38
Pneumonia 46 34
Abortion spontaneous 35 23
Depression 33 22

Showing 5 of 10 adverse events.

Start your 14-day trial Email me all 10 adverse events as a PDF

Which publications cover Headache Disorders? (217)

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

Publications
Publication Journal Year Major topic
Global, regional, and national burden of headache disorders, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. The Lancet. Neurology 2025 Yes
Occipital nerve block for headaches: a narrative review. Journal of oral & facial pain and headache 2024 Yes
Debate: differences and similarities between tension-type headache and migraine. The journal of headache and pain 2023 Yes
Update in the understanding of new daily persistent headache. Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache 2023 Yes
Trial protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous ketamine for chronic daily headaches: the "KetHead" trial. Trials 2023 Yes

Showing 5 of 217 publications.

Start your 14-day trial Email me the first 50 publications as a PDF

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