Phase II studies make up the largest share of active global clinical trials, while oncology continues to lead industry-sponsored development despite uneven trial-start trends.
Did you know one of the earliest examples of a controlled clinical trial was conducted at sea with 12 sailors who had scurvy? In 1747, James Lind compared different scurvy treatments on a ship.
In drug development, clinical trials are where a promising idea meets real patients. Without clinical trials — and without the patients, families, physicians, nurses, coordinators, data teams and researchers who support them — many new treatments would never reach the people who need them.
World Clinical Trials Day 2026, observed on May 20, aims to recognize that work. For 2026, the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) is recognizing World Clinical Trials Day 2026 under the theme “Research Rising,” with a focus on the clinical research workforce, patients, families and partners who keep studies moving.
So, what does the clinical trial landscape look like in 2026?
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The Global Trial Pipeline Is Active, but Funding Is Uneven
ClinicalTrials.gov currently lists more than 584,000 studies, showing how broad the global research footprint has become.
Phase II currently makes up 43% of studies, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Life Sciences Update February 2026. Phase I to Phase III studies together account for 86% of active trials.
In 2025, oncology made up 38% of Phase I to Phase III trial starts, according to IQVIA. Later-stage oncology activity rose even as overall oncology starts declined, while immunology remained active, supported by growth in Phase II starts.
Among Phase III contenders, companies are sharing readouts. In obesity, Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma reported data for survodutide, a glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist, showing up to 17.8 kg, or 39.2 lb, average weight loss after 76 weeks in SYNCHRONIZE-1. In neurology, Roche’s fenebrutinib met the main goal in a Phase III trial in primary progressive multiple sclerosis, reducing the risk of worsening disability by 12% compared with Ocrevus.
Though IPO activity slowed, global life sciences venture capital funding held steady at $49 billion in 2025, showing that investors are still backing the sector.
AI was one of the clearest funding bright spots. AI-focused life sciences companies raised a record $10.8 billion globally in 2025, up 76% from 2024. Isomorphic Labs, the Google DeepMind spinout, raised $2.1 billion to scale AI-driven drug discovery and is targeting its first clinical trials by the end of 2026.
Trial Activity Does Not Guarantee Success
In late 2025, Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide failed to meet the main goal in two late-stage Alzheimer’s disease trials, EVOKE and EVOKE+. The studies tested whether the GLP-1 drug could slow cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s disease.
Other late-stage disappointments followed. In January 2026, Genmab and AbbVie said epcoritamab did not significantly improve overall survival in a late-stage blood cancer study, though the trial showed improvements on some secondary endpoints. In April 2026, Merck and Eisai reported that two first-line kidney cancer combination regimens did not meet the study’s dual primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall survival compared with Keytruda plus Lenvima.
Regulators Are Trying to Make Trials Faster
Anyone working in rare disease research will tell you how difficult it can be to set up a traditional clinical trial when only a handful of patients may be eligible or available. In February 2026, the FDA issued draft guidance for individualized ultra-rare disease therapies, with the goal of helping developers generate evidence when randomized trials are not feasible.
In the UK, commercial clinical trial set-up times fell to 122 days, down from 169 days the year before. The UK launched clinical trial reforms, including Route B, where eligible trial modifications are automatically approved unless concerns are raised within 14 calendar days.
In the US, the FDA’s new draft guidance on Bayesian methods encouraged flexible statistical approaches for drug and biologic trials. The FDA has also pushed for more complete trial reporting this year. The agency reminded more than 2,200 sponsors and researchers to submit missing results to ClinicalTrials.gov, covering more than 3,000 registered trials.
The UK’s RECOVERY trial showed how quickly clinical research can move when urgency, infrastructure and coordination come together. Set up in nine days, the UK trial recruited 10,000 patients in two months and helped identify dexamethasone as a treatment that could reduce deaths in some hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Though hurdles abound, World Clinical Trials Day 2026 shows how far clinical trials have come.
FAQs
What does it mean when a trial does not meet its endpoint?
It means the study did not show the result it was designed to prove, such as improving survival, slowing disease progression or reducing symptoms compared with a control.
Are failed or negative trials still important?
Yes. They help researchers avoid repeating weak approaches, refine future studies and better understand where a treatment may or may not help patients.
Why does trial reporting matter?
When trial results are missing from the public record, patients, clinicians and researchers have a less complete view of what worked, what did not and why.
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