Los Angeles, CA Clinical Trials Report — May 2026

For Los Angeles residents considering participation in clinical research, May 2026 presents both urgent opportunities and exciting new avenues for contributing to medical science. Across the city, a significant number of trials are nearing their enrollment deadlines, making prompt action essential for interested individuals.

A total of 144 clinical trials are slated to conclude within the next 90 days. This urgency is particularly relevant for healthy volunteers, as 31 of these rapidly closing studies are still actively seeking participants without specific health conditions. These trials offer a chance to contribute to medical advancements before their enrollment windows close.

Act Now: Trials Nearing Enrollment Deadlines

Patients managing specific health conditions also face impending deadlines to join research. Trials focused on various cancers, anxiety, and other conditions are among those with limited time remaining for enrollment. Conditions with trials closing soon include:

• Breast cancer (6 trials)
• Anxiety (5 trials)
• Advanced solid tumor (4 trials)
• Lung cancer (3 trials)
• Prostate cancer (3 trials)
• Fear (3 trials)
• Ovarian cancer (3 trials)
• Metastatic breast cancer (2 trials)
• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (2 trials)
• Metastatic malignant solid neoplasm (2 trials)

New Research Horizons in Los Angeles

This month, Los Angeles saw the opening of 31 new clinical trials, a notable increase from the 14 trials that launched in April 2026, and more in line with the 39 new trials from March 2026. This brings the total number of actively recruiting clinical trials in Los Angeles, CA, to 1,840 across 764 research facilities, underscoring the city's robust research landscape.

Spotlight on Groundbreaking New Studies

May brings several high-profile new trials to Los Angeles, including significant Phase 2 and 3 studies from major sponsors. These trials offer participants the chance to engage with cutting-edge treatments and diagnostic approaches across a range of health challenges.

• Novo Nordisk A/S is initiating a notable Phase 3 study, NCT07567001, "A Research Study to Look at How Well NNC0487-0111 Works Compared to Placebo in People With Heart Failure and Obesity." This trial aims for 5,610 participants to evaluate the safety and effect of NNC0487-0111 in individuals with Heart Failure with preserved or mildly reduced Ejection Fraction and excess body weight.
• The University of Southern California is sponsoring NCT07602699, "Multi-Site Trial of Tirzepatide for Smoking Cessation," a Phase 2 study with 300 participants. This trial will generate data on the efficacy of tirzepatide for smoking cessation and associated outcomes in treatment-seeking people who smoke with overweight or obesity.
• Apollo Therapeutics Ltd. is behind NCT07599813, "A Phase 2b Study of the Effects of Camoteskimab in Adults With Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis." This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involves 280 participants.
• StratiHealth is sponsoring NCT07587073, "Comprehensive Enhanced Care Management Under CalAIM for High-Risk Medi-Cal Members," a pragmatic, cluster-randomized trial with 1,200 participants. It will evaluate whether a comprehensive CalAIM-aligned care model improves population health outcomes among high-risk Medi-Cal members.
• A project sponsored by Matthias Stuber, NCT07613398, "An International Multicenter, Multivendor Evaluation of the Free-Running Framework for Cardiac Function," is evaluating a new cardiac MRI technique. This study aims for 300 participants.
• The University of California, San Francisco is leading NCT07579364, "Outcomes Tracking in Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis (UVFP) and Atrophy After Medialization Laryngeal Surgery," an observational study with 500 participants. The goal is to learn about the long-term outcomes of Laryngeal Framework Surgery in patients with Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis or Vocal Fold Atrophy.

Opportunities for Healthy Volunteers

For individuals without a specific medical condition, there are significant opportunities to contribute to research. A total of 5 of the 31 new trials launched this month are actively seeking healthy volunteers. Across Los Angeles, a total of 190 clinical trials are currently recruiting healthy participants, providing numerous avenues for those interested in supporting medical research.

Los Angeles' Leading Research Hubs

Los Angeles is home to some of the nation's leading research institutions, which consistently run a high volume of clinical trials. These facilities are key destinations for individuals seeking to participate in medical research:

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (273 trials)
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (268 trials)
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles (111 trials)
• University of Southern California (89 trials)
• USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (133 trials)
• Los Angeles General Medical Center (62 trials)
• Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (48 trials)

These institutions offer a broad spectrum of research, from comprehensive medical studies at Cedars-Sinai and UCLA, to specialized pediatric care at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and advanced cancer research at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Diverse Research Areas and Participant Needs

New trials this month are exploring a range of conditions, with the most frequent being anxiety (2 trials), age-related macular degeneration (1 trial), colorectal cancer (1 trial), and atopic dermatitis (1 trial). Drug trials account for the largest share of new studies, with 10 new drug trials, followed by 6 behavioral trials and 6 other types of studies.

Participation in clinical trials is open to a diverse range of individuals. Of the 31 new trials launched this month, 29 include older adults, ensuring that senior populations have ample opportunity to contribute to medical science. Additionally, 2 new trials include children, and 3 are female-only. Academic institutions continue to play a vital role in Los Angeles's research ecosystem, with the University of California, Los Angeles (5 trials), University of Southern California (5 trials), and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (4 trials) sponsoring the most new studies. Industry sponsors like AbbVie (1 trial) are also driving significant research efforts.

Beyond LA: Exploring Nearby California Options

While Los Angeles offers a vast array of clinical trial opportunities, individuals may also find options in nearby communities within California. Cities with active trials include San Francisco (27 trials), Duarte (17 trials), Palo Alto (12 trials), San Diego (11 trials), Irvine (11 trials), La Jolla (8 trials), Stanford (7 trials), and Sacramento (6 trials).

As we move further into spring, Los Angeles's robust research community will continue to drive medical innovation, offering diverse opportunities for individuals to contribute to the future of healthcare.