Most common clinical trial therapy areas

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As of January 2024, there are 20,465 clinical trials recruiting patients in the U.S., according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Worldwide, NLM reported 65,474 trials recruiting subjects.

While clinical trials are FDA-mandated for all new treatments—including drugs, medical devices, vaccines, and gene therapies—these studies also produce crucial data used in making other care decisions. In addition to evaluating the safety and efficacy of new treatment options, clinical trials can help both providers and manufacturers determine which medical approaches work best for certain illnesses or patient populations.

What are the different types of clinical trials?

Clinical studies are classified into two main groups based on the research protocol and whether or not participants receive medical interventions as part of their testing. These categories are defined as:

  • Interventional studies (more commonly referred to as clinical trials)
    Investigators assess participant health outcomes based on specific interventions administered as part of the research protocol in order to test the safety and effectiveness of a candidate drug, therapy, or experimental treatment.
  • Observational studies
    Investigators assess participant health outcomes as established in the research protocol without administering interventions or procedures.

Within this framework, clinical studies can be further segmented by subtype—including prevention, treatment, diagnostic, screening, genetic, epidemiological, or quality-of-life trials.

Definitive Healthcare tracks both interventional and observational trials across 14 different therapy areas. Data is compiled from The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) and can be viewed in our HospitalView, PhysicianView, and PhysicianGroupView products. In this blog, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 most common clinical trials by therapeutic area.

Cancer treatments have the highest clinical trial volume

With a projected global market value of $300 billion by 2026, it’s no surprise that cancer drugs are among the most highly-tested therapies in clinical trials across the nation.

Top 10 clinical trial therapeutic areas

RankTherapy areaPercent of clinical studies analyzed
1.Cancers15.4%
2.Mental health and behavioral disorders6.3%
3.Endocrinology and metabolic disease5.7%
4.Cardiovascular and circulatory diseases5.4%
5.Nervous system diseases4.5%
6.Musculoskeletal diseases3.7%
7.Digestive diseases3.5%
8.Infectious diseases3.4%
9.Respiratory diseases2.5%
10.Blood diseases1.7%

Fig 1 Data from the Definitive Healthcare Atlas Dataset and sourced from The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI). The total number of clinical trials includes all historically reported. Accessed January 2024.

Cancer treatments have the highest clinical trial volume

Treatments for cancer have the highest number of clinical trials by therapeutic area – 15.4% of all trials analyzed. With a projected global market value of $300 billion by 2026, it’s no surprise that cancer drugs are among the most highly-tested therapies in clinical trials across the nation. With an increasing number of new cancer drugs being developed each year, this clinical trial volume can be expected to grow.

Clinical trials for mental health and behavioral disorders represent 6.3% of the trials analyzed. From antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications to emerging psychedelic options, our mental health treatment choices continue to expand.

Next, trials for endocrinology and metabolic disease, including diabetes, and cardiovascular and circulatory diseases each represent more than five percent of the clinical trials on the list. The additional top therapeutic areas by clinical trial volume include:

Where do clinical trials take place?

Below, we mapped the number of clinical trials by each state. The analysis includes 36,788 active clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, which are those identified as “recruiting,” “not yet recruiting,” “active,” and “not recruiting.”

Clinical trial volume by state

Fig. 2 Data is sourced from the National Library of Medicine at clinicaltrials.gov and include trials with a status of recruiting, not yet recruiting, active, or not recruiting. Accessed January 2024.

Which states have the most clinical trials?

As expected, population density is a significant contributing factor in the geographic distribution of clinical trials across the U.S. Greater patient volumes, after all, increase the likelihood of finding eligible participants for clinical research. For this reason, we see a strong correlation between those states with the largest populations and the highest reported clinical trial volumes—including California, Texas, New York, and Florida.

Though it’s not explicitly represented on the above map, there also appears to be a strong correlation between high clinical trial volumes and facility types—where states with high-performing cancer centers, academic medical centers, or other research facilities report greater volumes of clinical trials than areas with fewer numbers of these facility types.

Massachusetts and Ohio, for instance, each have more than 5,500 active clinical trials despite their sizes. Both states are in the top five for most academic medical centers in the country. 
 

Top hospitals by clinical trial volume

RankHospital nameDefinitive IDLocationNumber of clinical trials
1.University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center4017Houston, TX5,859
2.Massachusetts General Hospital1973Boston, MA5,281
3.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center2846New York, NY3,809
4.Duke University Hospital2973Durham, NC3,511
5.Dana-Farber Cancer Institute1978Boston, MA3,291
6.National Institutes of Health Clinical Center581811Bethesda, MD3,143
7.Vanderbilt University Medical Center3742Nashville, TN3,110
8.Brigham and Women’s Hospital1969Boston, MA2,403
9.Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center3623Charleston, SC2,308
10.Cleveland Clinic Main Campus3120Cleveland, OH2,193

Fig 3 Data from the Definitive Healthcare Atlas Dataset and sourced from The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI). The total number of clinical trials includes all historically reported. Accessed January 2024.

Clinical studies can be sponsored by a number of different agencies, ranging from industry organizations like pharmaceutical companies to academic medical centers or federal agencies—including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

While clinical studies can be conducted in a variety of different locations, access to specific equipment, physician expertise, or sample patient populations quite often influence this decision. With greater access to these critical resources, places like cancer research facilities and university medical centers are frequently selected as locations for hosting clinical trial research.

In fact, all 10 of the top hospitals by historic clinical trial volume are cancer research centers, university hospitals, or another type of dedicated research facility, according to Definitive Healthcare data.

Learn more

Read our blogs to catch up on the latest clinical trial trends and learn more about recruiting the right patients for your studies. Or find out how the Atlas All-Payor Claims dataset and PhysicianView product can help you target the right physicians for your new therapies. Start a free trial today.

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