Chapel Hill, NC Clinical Trials Report — July 2026

Chapel Hill participants should act soon if they are considering a study scheduled to close: 34 recruiting trials are expected to finish enrollment within the next 90 days, including 8 that accept healthy volunteers. Breast cancer leads the closing-soon categories with 3 trials, followed by anterior cruciate ligament injuries and cystic fibrosis with 2 each.

Chapel Hill currently has 651 recruiting trials across 200 research facilities. Nine new studies opened in July, down from 12 in May. Because projected closing dates can change and enrollment may end early when participant targets are reached, people who appear eligible should contact study teams promptly.

Closing windows include cancer, cystic fibrosis, and orthopedic studies

The closing-soon pipeline covers several conditions, giving both patients and healthy volunteers reasons to review local listings now:

• Breast cancer (3 trials)
• Anterior cruciate ligament injuries (2 trials)
• Cystic fibrosis (2 trials)
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (1 trial)
• Cancer more generally (1 trial)
• Aortic aneurysm and dissection (1 trial)
• Autism spectrum disorder (1 trial)
• Borderline personality disorder (1 trial)
• Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (1 trial)

Of the 34 trials closing within 90 days, 8 accept healthy volunteers. Chapel Hill has 70 healthy-volunteer trials recruiting overall, although eligibility may depend on age, medical history, medications, laboratory results, and availability for study visits.

Major sponsors bring late-stage studies to the area

July’s new studies include 4 drug trials, 2 behavioral studies, and 5 studies classified as other types. The new-trial mix spans ACL injuries, acute myeloid leukemia, breast cancer, cannabis, chest wall tumors, and cystic fibrosis. Several large Phase 3 studies from Novo Nordisk, AbbVie, and TScan Therapeutics stand out:

• NCT07720271, “AMAZE 9,” is a Phase 3 Novo Nordisk study of once-daily zenagamtide tablets for people with excess body weight. It plans to enroll 950 participants and compares zenagamtide with placebo.
• NCT07728188 is a Phase 3 AbbVie study comparing injected etentamig plus oral pomalidomide with standard therapies for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Planned enrollment is 520 participants.
• NCT07702578 is a Phase 3 TScan Therapeutics study evaluating T-cell receptor-engineered donor T cells after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The study plans to enroll 310 participants.
• NCT07685977 is a randomized study sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center testing whether rapid onsite evaluation improves diagnosis during robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. Planned enrollment is 400 participants.
• NCT07696338, “Rethinking Early Airway Clearence Therapies,” is sponsored by Nicole Hamblett and includes parallel studies of hypertonic saline and dornase alfa for people with cystic fibrosis. It plans to enroll 405 participants.
• NCT07699198 is a University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill behavioral study testing cannabis warning messages online. It plans to include 1,500 adults living in the United States, including people who use cannabis and people who do not.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill sponsors 3 of the new studies. Other sponsors include Nicole Hamblett, Novo Nordisk A/S, AbbVie, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and TScan Therapeutics. The July sponsor mix includes 6 studies categorized as other and 3 industry-sponsored studies.

UNC-affiliated facilities offer the deepest local access

Most Chapel Hill opportunities are concentrated in the University of North Carolina system and its cancer center. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill lists 129 recruiting trials, followed by University of North Carolina with 91 and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center with 90. These sites provide access to oncology research as well as studies in respiratory disease, orthopedics, metabolic health, behavioral health, and other specialties.

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (129 trials)
• University of North Carolina (91 trials)
• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (90 trials)
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (16 trials)
• UNC Chapel Hill (15 trials)
• Research Site (14 trials)
• University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (13 trials)
• University of North Carolina Medical Center (11 trials)
• Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (10 trials)

The repeated UNC listings may represent separate site records in trial databases, but together they show how strongly local research is centered within the UNC academic and medical network. People seeking cancer trials may want to start with UNC Lineberger and its affiliated facilities, while those considering studies in cystic fibrosis, ACL injuries, or behavioral health should review the broader UNC listings.

Healthy-volunteer options and who should move now

One of the 9 new July trials accepts healthy volunteers. The cannabis warning-message study NCT07699198 may be relevant to adults who use cannabis as well as adults who do not, subject to the study’s specific requirements. Seven of the new studies include older adults, and one includes children. No new study is designated female-only or male-only.

Patients with breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, ACL injuries, aortic aneurysm conditions, autism spectrum disorder, or borderline personality disorder should review closing-soon opportunities first. Healthy adults should also act early if they are interested in the limited number of closing studies that accept them. Families looking for pediatric research have at least one new-study opportunity to investigate, while older adults are included in 7 July openings.

Nearby North Carolina alternatives

Participants willing to travel can broaden their search beyond Chapel Hill. Durham has 15 recruiting trials, making it the strongest nearby alternative in the available data. Other North Carolina locations with trials include Charlotte and Winston-Salem with 5 each, Shelby and Raleigh with 2 each, and Research Triangle Park, Salisbury, and Wilmington with 1 each.

New-trial activity has moved from 10 openings in February and March to 12 in April, 16 in May, 12 in June, and 9 in July; the August figure in the trend data is 4. With UNC sites maintaining a large active research base, July is a good time to compare eligibility across Chapel Hill and Durham before upcoming enrollment windows narrow further.