Tennessee Clinical Trials Report — July 2026

Tennessee residents who may qualify for a clinical trial should begin screening now: 81 recruiting studies are projected to close within the next 90 days. Eleven of those trials accept healthy volunteers, creating a particularly short window for people who do not have a diagnosed condition. Tennessee currently has 1,968 recruiting trials across 52 cities and 1,051 research sites.

The state added 31 new trials in July, down from 48 in June and 48 in May. Although the monthly pace has slowed, Tennessee continues to offer opportunities in cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, HIV prevention, heart disease, hearing, and other areas. Because enrollment projections can change and eligibility screening may take time, people interested in a closing study should contact the research site as soon as possible.

Closing studies create an immediate opportunity

Cancer-related studies make up many of the trials nearing their projected enrollment deadlines. Prostate cancer leads with 5 closing-soon trials, followed by breast cancer with 4. Autonomic failure and cardiovascular diseases each account for 3, while cancer overall also has 3 studies approaching closure.

• Prostate cancer — 5 closing-soon trials
• Breast cancer — 4
• Autonomic failure and cardiovascular diseases — 3 each
• Cancer overall — 3
• Major depressive disorder, gestational diabetes in pregnancy, metastatic solid tumor, colorectal cancer, and advanced solid tumor — 2 each

Other people who may need to act quickly include those with major depressive disorder, gestational diabetes, metastatic solid tumors, colorectal cancer, or advanced solid tumors. Eleven of the 81 closing trials accept healthy volunteers. Across Tennessee as a whole, 136 trials are currently recruiting healthy participants, but the number of openings and screening requirements vary by study.

July brings targeted drug research and large Phase 2/3 studies

Drug trials dominated Tennessee’s new activity, with 18 of the 31 new studies classified as drug research. Other intervention types accounted for 9 trials, followed by behavioral studies (3), biological studies (2), and devices (1). The month’s new conditions included relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, ADHD, basal cell carcinoma, biliary tract cancer, congenital heart disease, dysphagia, aging-related mid-face changes, and cochlear implant research.

Several major-sponsor studies stand out for their phase and planned enrollment:

• NCT07684235 — Amgen’s Phase 3 MARITIME-1-EXTENSION study plans to enroll 3,200 participants with obesity or overweight. It will evaluate the long-term efficacy, safety, and tolerability of maridebart cafraglutide and extends an earlier trial.
• NCT07697456 — AbbVie’s Phase 2 study of advanced therapies for adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis plans to enroll 2,000 participants.
• NCT07720284 — AstraZeneca’s Phase 3 study compares dato-DXd plus rilvegostomig with standard care in adults with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial cancer after surgery. Planned enrollment is 915 participants.
• NCT07700979 — Akeso’s Phase 3 study evaluates cadonilimab plus chemotherapy for previously untreated, unresectable, or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal-junction adenocarcinoma, with 900 participants planned.
• NCT07680790 — Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Phase 3 IZABRIGHT-Lung02 study evaluates izalontamab brengitecan with osimertinib against other treatment strategies for previously untreated EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. The study plans to enroll 850 participants.
• NCT07728188 — AbbVie’s Phase 3 trial studies injected etentamig plus oral pomalidomide versus standard therapies for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, with 520 participants planned.

Prevention and diagnostic research also feature prominently. NCT07728123, Screen2Prevent, is sponsored by Westat and plans to involve 84,000 participants. The study evaluates targeted, universally offered opt-in, and universally offered opt-out HIV screening approaches in emergency departments. AstraZeneca’s NCT07690436 is a 500-participant pilot using retinal fundus and OCT imaging to explore ocular detection of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

Nashville anchors the state’s new research activity

New trial openings are concentrated in Nashville, which accounts for 20 of Tennessee’s 31 July launches. Memphis follows with 7, while Knoxville has 2. Germantown and Jackson each added 1 new trial.

• Nashville — 20 new trials
• Memphis — 7
• Knoxville — 2
• Germantown and Jackson — 1 each

This pattern shows a strong concentration around Tennessee’s largest medical and academic centers, especially Nashville and Memphis, rather than an even statewide spread of newly opened studies. However, the broader recruiting network reaches 52 cities and includes 1,051 sites, so residents should search beyond the city where a study first appears. A trial may have additional locations elsewhere in Tennessee or may require only periodic visits at a nearby site.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the most frequently named sponsor among July’s new trials, with 5. AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb sponsored 3 each. Axsome Therapeutics and AbbVie sponsored 2 each, while Flare Therapeutics, Iksuda Therapeutics, and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital each sponsored 1. Overall, 17 new trials were industry-sponsored, 13 were classified as other, and 1 was associated with a network.

Healthy adults, families, and older people have distinct options

Three of July’s 31 new trials accept healthy volunteers, while 136 healthy-volunteer studies are recruiting statewide. Healthy adults should check closing-soon listings first because 11 such trials are within the 90-day window. These studies may involve prevention, imaging, behavioral research, or other questions rather than treatment of an illness.

Families may find opportunities in 9 new trials that include children. There are no new female-only trials, and 1 new study is male-only. Older adults are included in 25 new-trial eligibility criteria, making age-related research and studies of chronic disease especially relevant to this group.

People with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, gastrointestinal cancers, lung cancer, urothelial cancer, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, obesity, or heart-related conditions should review both the new and closing-soon listings. Parents of children with congenital heart disease, ADHD, dysphagia, or cochlear implant-related needs may also find new studies worth discussing with their care teams.

Tennessee’s July pipeline is smaller than earlier in the year—the six-month sequence fell from 55 new trials in February to 49 in March, 45 in April, 44 in May, 48 in June, and 31 in July. With 10 new trials already recorded for August, patients and volunteers should continue checking listings regularly as sites update enrollment and eligibility.