San Francisco, CA Clinical Trials Report — May 2026

For San Franciscans looking to contribute to medical research, May 2026 presents both urgent opportunities and exciting new avenues for participating in clinical trials. Across the city, a significant number of trials are nearing their enrollment deadlines, making prompt action essential for interested individuals.

A total of 85 clinical trials are slated to conclude within the next 90 days. This urgency is particularly relevant for healthy volunteers, as 22 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.

New Research Opportunities Emerge

This month, San Francisco saw the opening of 27 new clinical trials, matching the number that launched in April 2026 and slightly down from 29 in March 2026. This brings the total number of actively recruiting clinical trials in San Francisco, CA, to 1,179 across 397 research facilities, underscoring the city's robust research landscape.

May brings several high-profile new trials to San Francisco, including significant Phase 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.
• AstraZeneca is sponsoring a Phase 3 trial, NCT07611110, "AZD2265 Compared With Standard of Care in PSMA-positive Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer (VECTRA-01)." This study seeks 670 participants to demonstrate the superiority of AZD2265 relative to standard of care treatments by assessing radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival in participants with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
• The University of California, San Francisco is sponsoring NCT07604662, "Real-Time Acute Kidney Injury Perioperative Prediction Clinical Trial," an investigator-initiated trial involving 25,518 participants. This pragmatic study evaluates whether displaying a machine learning-derived perioperative AKI risk score, alone or paired with an advisory, improves kidney-protective care and reduces kidney injury after non-obstetric surgery.
• Also from the University of California, San Francisco, NCT07601802, "Acute Risk Monitoring for Oncology Therapy Regimen," aims for 4,740 participants. This study addresses the risk of preventable, unplanned acute care events like emergency department visits and hospitalizations for cancer patients undergoing outpatient infusion systemic therapy.
• Another significant trial from the University of California, San Francisco is NCT07614074, "Recovery Trajectory for Coma and Disorders of Consciousness," involving 2,000 participants. This study seeks to better understand recovery after coma caused by serious neurologic illness or injury, such as stroke, cardiac arrest, or traumatic brain injury.
• The University of California, San Francisco is also sponsoring NCT07582523, "Out-of-office Monitoring for Rhythms Of Normal Versus Atrial Fibrillation," with 1,910 participants. The goal is to determine if screening for atrial fibrillation through daily home blood pressure monitoring decreases the time to diagnosis in older adults with hypertension.

New trials this month are exploring a range of conditions, with the most frequent being obesity (2 trials) and major depressive disorder (2 trials). Other conditions include adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, anesthesia, anorexia nervosa, artificial intelligence-assisted care, body composition, coma, breast surgery, and cancer. Drug trials account for the largest share of new studies, with 9 new drug trials, followed by 7 behavioral trials and 6 device trials.

Opportunities for Healthy Volunteers

For individuals without a specific medical condition, there are significant opportunities to contribute to research. A total of 4 of the 27 new trials launched this month are actively seeking healthy volunteers. Across San Francisco, a total of 151 clinical trials are currently recruiting healthy participants, providing numerous avenues for those interested in supporting medical research.

San Francisco's Leading Research Facilities

San Francisco 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:

• University of California, San Francisco (255 trials)
• University of California San Francisco (154 trials)
• UCSF Medical Center-Mission Bay (44 trials)
• Kaiser Permanente-San Francisco (38 trials)
• UCSF (31 trials)
• UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (28 trials)
• California Pacific Medical Center-Pacific Campus (27 trials)
• Research Site (25 trials)
• University of California (21 trials)
• Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (21 trials)
• UCSF Medical Center (16 trials)
• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) (14 trials)

The University of California, San Francisco system, including its various campuses and centers, clearly leads the city in the volume of clinical research, offering a broad spectrum of studies across many medical fields.

Impending Deadlines for Key Health Areas

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

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (3 trials)
• Primary peritoneal cancer (2 trials)
• Ovarian cancer (2 trials)
• Solid tumor (2 trials)
• Stress (2 trials)
• Prostate cancer (2 trials)
• Cancer (2 trials)
• Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (2 trials)
• Advanced breast cancer (1 trial)
• ALS-frontotemporal dementia (1 trial)

Broadening Your Search: Nearby Options

While San Francisco offers a vast array of clinical trial opportunities, individuals may also find options in nearby communities within California. Cities with active trials include Los Angeles (31 trials), Duarte (17 trials), Palo Alto (12 trials), San Diego (11 trials), Irvine (11 trials), La Jolla (8 trials), Stanford (7 trials), and Beverly Hills (6 trials).

Participation in clinical trials is open to a diverse range of individuals. Of the 27 new trials launched this month, 23 include older adults, 4 include children, 2 are female-only, and 2 are male-only. Academic institutions continue to play a vital role in San Francisco's research ecosystem, with the University of California, San Francisco sponsoring 12 of the new trials. Industry sponsors like AstraZeneca (2 trials) and Novo Nordisk A/S (1 trial) are also driving significant research efforts.

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