# ClinicalTrials.gov Search: Studies, Phases, Sponsors & Status (`private_image_hg9/clinical-trials-search`) Actor

Search 500K+ studies on ClinicalTrials.gov by condition, drug, sponsor, phase, status, location and date through the official API. Clean rows with phase, enrollment, sponsor, key dates, countries and results flag. New-or-updated-only mode for daily monitoring.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/private_image_hg9/clinical-trials-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Michael Shanker](https://apify.com/private_image_hg9) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Lead generation, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.50 / 1,000 study saveds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## ClinicalTrials.gov Search: Studies, Phases, Sponsors & Status

Search the 500,000+ studies registered on **ClinicalTrials.gov** by condition, drug, sponsor, phase, recruitment status, location and date, and get one clean JSON row per study. It uses the official ClinicalTrials.gov API from the U.S. National Library of Medicine. No login, no API key, no browser, no proxies, so runs are fast and don't break when the website changes.

**$1.50 per 1,000 studies.** You pay only for studies saved to your dataset. Searches with no matches cost nothing, and there's no start fee.

### What you can use it for

- **Pharma and biotech competitive intelligence:** list every Phase 2 and 3 trial a competitor sponsors, or every industry trial for a disease, with status, enrollment and key dates.
- **Business development and sales:** find sponsors and sites running trials in your area. A new trial is a strong buying signal for CROs, recruitment vendors, labs and suppliers.
- **Investors and analysts:** track pipelines, terminated studies and upcoming primary completion dates.
- **Researchers and patient-recruitment teams:** pull recruiting studies for a condition by country, state or city.
- **Monitoring:** schedule it daily with **Only new or updated studies** turned on and get just the trials that were posted or changed since the last run.
- **AI agents and RAG:** feed structured trial data into an LLM pipeline without scraping.

### Input

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Conditions or diseases** | E.g. `melanoma`, `type 2 diabetes`. Any of them. Synonyms and medical subject terms match too. |
| **Drugs or interventions** | E.g. `pembrolizumab`, `semaglutide`. |
| **Sponsors or collaborators** | E.g. `Pfizer`, `National Cancer Institute`. |
| **Other keywords** | Free text searched across the whole study record. |
| **Location** | City, state or country with a study site, e.g. `Texas`, `Germany`. |
| **NCT numbers** | Look up specific studies, e.g. `NCT04280705`. |
| **Recruitment status** | Recruiting, not yet recruiting, active, completed, terminated and the other official statuses. |
| **Phase** | Early Phase 1 to Phase 4, or not applicable. |
| **Study type / Lead sponsor type** | Interventional, observational or expanded access; industry, NIH, other federal, university and others. |
| **Only studies with posted results** | Keep studies that have results on ClinicalTrials.gov. |
| **Updated since / First posted since** | `YYYY-MM-DD` or a relative period like `7 days`. |
| **Sort by** | Most recently updated (default), most recently posted, latest start date, or best match. |
| **Max results** | Stop after this many studies (default 100). |
| **Include brief summary / eligibility criteria / site list** | Optional longer fields, off by default to keep rows small. |
| **Only new or updated studies since the last run** | Monitor mode. Use **Monitor name** to keep separate watch lists. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "conditions": ["non-small cell lung cancer"],
  "phases": ["PHASE2", "PHASE3"],
  "statuses": ["RECRUITING", "NOT_YET_RECRUITING"],
  "sponsorClass": "INDUSTRY",
  "location": "United States",
  "maxResults": 500
}
```

### Output

One row per study (values illustrative):

```json
{
  "nctId": "NCT09990001",
  "title": "EX-101 in Advanced Melanoma",
  "officialTitle": "A Study of EX-101 in Advanced Melanoma",
  "status": "RECRUITING",
  "studyType": "INTERVENTIONAL",
  "phases": ["PHASE2"],
  "phase": "PHASE2",
  "conditions": ["Melanoma", "Skin Cancer"],
  "meshTerms": ["Melanoma", "Skin Cancer"],
  "interventions": ["Drug: EX-101"],
  "interventionTypes": ["DRUG"],
  "leadSponsor": "Example Oncology Inc",
  "leadSponsorClass": "INDUSTRY",
  "collaborators": ["Example University"],
  "enrollment": 120,
  "enrollmentType": "ESTIMATED",
  "allocation": "NA",
  "primaryPurpose": "TREATMENT",
  "masking": "NONE",
  "primaryOutcomes": ["Overall response rate"],
  "sex": "ALL",
  "minimumAge": "18 Years",
  "startDate": "2026-09-15",
  "primaryCompletionDate": "2028-06",
  "completionDate": "2029-01",
  "firstPostedDate": "2026-09-01",
  "lastUpdatedDate": "2026-10-30",
  "hasResults": false,
  "locationCount": 3,
  "countries": ["United States", "Canada"],
  "url": "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT09990001",
  "source": "clinicaltrials.gov",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-11-02T18:02:11.000000+00:00"
}
```

Optional fields add `briefSummary`, `eligibilityCriteria` and `locations` (facility, city, state, country and site status). In monitor mode each row also has `changeType`: `new` or `updated`. Dates are as registered, so some are month-only (`2028-06`).

Names, emails and phone numbers of study contacts and investigators are deliberately left out. Open the study link to see who to contact.

Download results as JSON, CSV or Excel, or send them to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make or n8n. The run also saves a `SUMMARY` record with how many studies matched, how many were saved, and the exact API query used.

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.0015 per study saved ($1.50 per 1,000)**. No start fee. Set a maximum charge per run in the run options and the Actor stops cleanly when it's reached.

### Tips

- Leave **Sort by** on *Most recently updated* for monitoring, so the newest changes come first.
- A Phase 2/3 study matches a search for Phase 2 and a search for Phase 3.
- Use **Updated since** = `1 day` with a daily schedule for a lightweight change feed, or turn on monitor mode to catch every change exactly once.

### Data source and terms

Data comes from the official [ClinicalTrials.gov API](https://clinicaltrials.gov/data-api/api), run by the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. It's public registry data. The Actor uses only that documented API, stays under its published guidance of about 50 requests per minute, doesn't log in anywhere and doesn't scrape websites. This Actor isn't affiliated with or endorsed by NLM, NIH or ClinicalTrials.gov.

# Actor input Schema

## `conditions` (type: `array`):

E.g. "melanoma", "type 2 diabetes". Studies matching any of them are returned. ClinicalTrials.gov also matches synonyms and medical subject terms.

## `interventions` (type: `array`):

Drug, device, procedure or other intervention names, e.g. "pembrolizumab", "semaglutide". Any of them.

## `sponsors` (type: `array`):

Company or institution names, e.g. "Pfizer", "National Cancer Institute". Any of them.

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Free-text words searched across the whole study record (title, summary, outcomes and more). Any of them.

## `location` (type: `string`):

City, state or country where the study has a site, e.g. "Boston", "Texas", "Germany".

## `nctIds` (type: `array`):

Look up specific studies, e.g. NCT04280705. Other filters still apply.

## `statuses` (type: `array`):

Leave empty for every status.

## `phases` (type: `array`):

Studies in any of these phases. A Phase 2/3 study matches both Phase 2 and Phase 3.

## `studyType` (type: `string`):

Interventional (clinical trials), observational or expanded access.

## `sponsorClass` (type: `string`):

E.g. Industry only, to see what drug and device companies are running.

## `onlyWithResults` (type: `boolean`):

Keep only studies that have results posted on ClinicalTrials.gov.

## `updatedSince` (type: `string`):

Only studies whose record was last updated on or after this date. YYYY-MM-DD, or a relative period like "7 days".

## `postedSince` (type: `string`):

Only studies first posted on or after this date. YYYY-MM-DD, or a relative period like "30 days".

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Which studies come first when more match than Max results.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after saving this many studies.

## `includeDescription` (type: `boolean`):

Add the study's plain-language summary to every row.

## `includeEligibility` (type: `boolean`):

Add the full inclusion and exclusion criteria text.

## `includeLocations` (type: `boolean`):

Add every study site (facility, city, state, country, site status). Site contacts are never included.

## `onlyNewOrUpdated` (type: `boolean`):

Remembers each study's last update date between runs and saves only studies that are new or changed. Ideal with a daily schedule. The first run returns every matching study up to Max results.

## `monitorKey` (type: `string`):

Use different names to keep separate watch lists (e.g. "oncology-competitors").

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "conditions": [
    "melanoma"
  ],
  "studyType": "any",
  "sponsorClass": "any",
  "onlyWithResults": false,
  "sort": "updated",
  "maxResults": 100,
  "includeDescription": false,
  "includeEligibility": false,
  "includeLocations": false,
  "onlyNewOrUpdated": false,
  "monitorKey": "default"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Every row the run saved, in the default dataset.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Counts and notes for the run, including anything skipped and why.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "conditions": [
        "melanoma"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("private_image_hg9/clinical-trials-search").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "conditions": ["melanoma"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("private_image_hg9/clinical-trials-search").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "conditions": [
    "melanoma"
  ]
}' |
apify call private_image_hg9/clinical-trials-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,private_image_hg9/clinical-trials-search"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/TxtxjgeWkfKClwPxp/builds/7Zk2j7LmzzptRNfbu/openapi.json