Iowa City, IA Clinical Trials Report — July 2026

Iowa City participants should act quickly if they match a study nearing its enrollment deadline: 24 recruiting trials are expected to close within the next 90 days, including 4 that accept healthy volunteers. Across the city, 543 trials are recruiting at 117 research facilities, giving patients and volunteers a broad local selection but making early contact especially important.

July brought 5 new trials, up from 4 in May. Two of the new studies accept healthy volunteers, while 61 healthy-volunteer trials are recruiting in Iowa City overall. People without a diagnosed condition may find opportunities in genetics, pregnancy and development research, physiology, or other studies, although each trial sets its own age, health, and time-commitment requirements.

Closing-soon studies include blood disorders, heart rhythm, and kidney disease

Enrollment activity is changing across several conditions. The closing-soon list includes two studies involving carrier state and one each involving acute myeloid leukemia, atrial tachycardia, AML, AML with mutated NPM1, atrial arrhythmia, adverse childhood experience, acute leukemia, chronic kidney disease, and chronic subdural hematoma.

• Carrier state (2 trials)
• Acute myeloid leukemia (1 trial)
• Atrial tachycardia (1 trial)
• AML with mutated NPM1 (1 trial)
• Atrial arrhythmia (1 trial)
• Adverse childhood experience (1 trial)
• Chronic kidney disease (1 trial)
• Chronic subdural hematoma (1 trial)

The data identify 4 closing-soon studies that accept healthy volunteers, but do not provide a condition-by-condition breakdown of those opportunities. Healthy volunteers should ask the study team whether enrollment remains open, since projected closing dates can change when recruitment targets are reached. Patients with leukemia, heart-rhythm disorders, kidney disease, or other listed conditions should similarly contact sites soon rather than waiting until the final deadline.

New Phase 3 opportunities from Pfizer and ML Bio Solutions

July’s new studies include 3 drug trials, 2 studies classified as other, and one each classified as behavioral and genetic. Several openings stand out because they are late-stage studies or address conditions with specialized treatment needs:

• NCT07733765 is Pfizer’s Phase 3 study of ritlecitinib for moderate alopecia areata, the patchy hair-loss condition. The study plans to enroll 336 young people and adults and is seeking participants aged 12 or older where permitted by local regulators and ethics review.
• NCT07678775 is a Phase 3 open-label extension study of BBP-418, also called ribitol, for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I/R9. Sponsored by ML Bio Solutions, Inc., it plans to enroll 107 participants who previously took part in the Fortify study.
• NCT07696338, the REACT trial, is sponsored by Nicole Hamblett and includes two randomized studies evaluating airway-clearance approaches for cystic fibrosis: hypertonic saline and dornase alfa. Planned enrollment is 405 participants.
• NCT07738003, sponsored by the University of Iowa, is the Perinatal Autism Genetics and Epigenetics Study. The project plans to enroll 7,200 participants and examines how pregnancy, early experiences, and genetic factors may influence child development and autism spectrum disorder.

Other new-study categories include autism disorders and maternal stress, developmental delay, endothelial function, preeclampsia, prenatal stress, and social behavior. The new-trial mix also includes studies sponsored by Anna Stanhewicz, PhD, Nicole Hamblett, Pfizer, ML Bio Solutions, Inc., and the University of Iowa. 3 are categorized as other-sponsored or otherwise non-industry studies, while 2 are industry-sponsored.

University of Iowa sites offer the deepest local access

The University of Iowa is the city’s dominant research network. Its main listing accounts for 171 recruiting trials, followed by the University of Iowa/Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center with 73 and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with 53. These sites provide access to oncology, pediatrics, rare diseases, cystic fibrosis, neurology, cardiovascular research, and developmental studies.

• University of Iowa (171 trials)
• University of Iowa/Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center (73 trials)
• University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (53 trials)
• University of Iowa Health Care (39 trials)
• University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics (21 trials)
• Research Site (14 trials)
• University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics (11 trials)
• University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital (8 trials)
• The University of Iowa (5 trials)
• Iowa City VA Health Care System (5 trials)

The repeated naming of University of Iowa hospitals and health-care entities reflects multiple facility records, but together they show how concentrated trial access is within the university system. The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center is a particularly important destination for people seeking oncology studies, while Stead Family Children’s Hospital is relevant for families looking for pediatric research.

Who may qualify this month?

Among the 5 new trials, 4 include children, one is female-only, and none is male-only. Two include older adults. Two new trials accept healthy volunteers, adding to the 61 healthy-volunteer studies already recruiting across Iowa City. The pregnancy, maternal-stress, endothelial-function, and developmental studies may be relevant to people who do not have a specific illness, but interested volunteers should confirm the exact eligibility rules with the research team.

Iowa City has no nearby-city trial comparison data in this report, so there are no additional Iowa locations to rank here. Participants willing to travel can still ask trial coordinators whether the same protocol has sites elsewhere in Iowa or whether referrals to another participating location are possible.

With five openings in July and a substantial number of studies approaching their recruitment windows, Iowa City’s clinical-trial pipeline remains active. Patients and healthy volunteers who find a potential match should review eligibility and contact the local facility now, while new summer studies continue to appear.