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October 28, 2026

2026 Patient Recruitment Roundup

Key findings of the 2026 Patient Recruitment Roundup:

Overall MER fell to a four-year low, Phase IV trials lead enrollment, enrollment duration has risen sharply, Asia outperforms across the board, vaccines are the fastest-enrolling trials, and non-industry trials surpass industry-sponsored trials.
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FAQ

MER is the median number of patients enrolled per site per month across all trials with available actual enrollment data. It reflects real-world recruitment performance rather than planned enrollment. The combined MER for industry-sponsored patient trials from 2022 to 2025 was 0.37 patients/site/month.
Overall median enrollment rates (MER) fell to a four-year low of 0.32 in 2024 and recovered modestly to 0.36 in 2025. In 2010, MER was 0.76, roughly double current levels. Enrollment duration has also risen in every phase since 2010, and Phase I more than doubled.
Phase IV trials lead on enrollment (MER 0.70–1.04), and Asian sites outperform North American and European sites in every phase and year studied. Infectious disease vaccine trials record the highest rates, up to a MER of 5.38 in 2025. Oncology and rare disease trials record the lowest rates (0.16–0.22). Small molecules also enroll faster than biologics.
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