Find Clinical Trials Before the Site List Closes

Overview

A trial appears on the registry before its sites are locked. Between that posting and the moment the site list closes, there's a window — often weeks — where a sponsor or CRO is still deciding who will run the study. Sites that reach study startup during that window get considered. Sites that find out later read about it.

This Hound watches the trial registries continuously, filters for the studies your site is actually qualified to run, finds the sponsor's study startup or clinical operations lead, and opens the conversation while the site list is still open.

How to set it up

Four things to brief your Hound. This is the exact configuration behind this play.

A · Describe the opportunity

This is the brief every source is filtered against. You describe what you're looking for in plain language, add keywords to sharpen it, then set the structured criteria.

Tell Forest what you're looking for:

"I'm looking for clinical trials my site is genuinely qualified to run — studies in my therapeutic areas and phases, where I have the patient population, the equipment, and the investigator experience. I want them as early as possible: newly registered studies, and ideally 'not yet recruiting' ones where sites aren't finalized. Prioritize sponsors who don't already have a site in my region. Skip studies already fully enrolled, therapeutic areas I can't support, and trials whose inclusion criteria don't match my patient population."

Keywords to watch for: not yet recruiting · newly registered · site selection · feasibility · [your therapeutic areas, e.g. oncology, cardiology] · [your phases, e.g. Phase II, Phase III] · [your patient population] · [your region]

Fields to extract: nct_number · study_title · sponsor · phase · condition · enrollment_target · status · site_locations · start_date · intervention_type · collaborators

Match criteria:

• ✓ Therapeutic area and phase match your site's capability

• ✓ Status is not yet recruiting or recently registered (sites likely not final)

• ✓ Patient population matches what you can actually enroll

• ✓ No existing site in your region (you're additive, not redundant)

• ✗ Exclude fully enrolled or completed studies

• ✗ Exclude interventions your site can't support

B · Choose the sources to monitor

Trial registration is public and mandated by law — the registry is free, structured, and has an open API. This is one of the cleanest sources in the catalog.

Trial registries (free — connected by default) 🟢

• ClinicalTrials.gov — clinicaltrials.gov — Every registered US trial: sponsor, phase, condition, enrollment target, site locations, and status. Watch the status field — Not yet recruiting is the signal that sites may still be open. The API is free and public.

• WHO ICTRP — trialsearch.who.int — International registry aggregator, for global sponsors entering the US.

• EU Clinical Trials Register — clinicaltrialsregister.eu — European trials whose sponsors often expand to US sites.

News & Press 🟡 default source, always on — reads the open web against your brief for sponsor pipeline announcements, drug development news, and funding for programs in your therapeutic areas — these surface months before a trial is registered, which is the earliest possible signal.

Note: Registration timing varies. Sponsors often register close to first-patient-in, so the registry can be later than you'd like. That's precisely why News & Press matters here — a sponsor announcing a Phase II program is a signal you can act on long before an NCT number exists.

C · Define the ICP to reach

Which people to find and reach at the sponsor or CRO, in priority order, with fallbacks.

1. Study Startup / Site Selection Lead — Primary — decides who runs the study — PRIMARY

2. Clinical Operations Director / Clinical Trial Manager — Owns execution and site performance

3. Medical Director / Program Lead — Fallback for therapeutic-area relationship — FALLBACK

A note on the title problem. The person who selects sites rarely has "site selection" in their title. Let the Hound work from the function — clinical operations, study startup, feasibility — rather than a fixed title list, and set fallbacks generously.

D · Email & LinkedIn sequence

The play the Hound runs for each match. Fields from the registry drop in as variables. Lead with enrollment capability — that's the only thing a sponsor cares about.

Email · Day 0 Hi {{first_name}} — I saw {{sponsor}} registered {{study_title}} ({{nct_number}}), a {{phase}} study in {{condition}}. We're a research site in {{region}} with {{relevant_patient_population}} and {{investigator_experience}} in this indication. If your site list isn't final, we'd welcome a feasibility conversation — we can turn around a questionnaire quickly.

↓ Wait 3 days · no reply

LinkedIn · connection request · Day 3 Hi {{first_name}} — reaching out regarding {{sponsor}}'s {{condition}} program. Would value connecting.

↓ Wait 4 days · no reply

Email · Day 7 · follow-up Following up once on {{nct_number}} — happy to send our site profile and enrollment history in {{condition}}, no obligation. Even if this study's sites are set, we'd like to be considered for {{sponsor}}'s next one in this area.

⏸ Any reply on either channel pauses the whole sequence — the conversation is yours.