How to Look Up a Stem Cell Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov and INVIMA's Registry, Step by Step

Clinical trials are how a promising idea becomes a proven treatment, or gets ruled out. They are also, unfortunately, a label some businesses borrow. The good news is that the main trial registries are public and free. In 20 minutes you can usually tell whether a “study” you've been offered is a regulated trial, a registered study with weak oversight, or just a sales pitch with a reference number. This guide walks through both the US registry and Colombia's own tool.

Trial vs. treatment: the difference that matters

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) makes a point that's easy to miss: selling an experimental treatment isn't the same as running a clinical trial. In its nine things patients should know, it describes a legitimate trial this way:

• It's built on earlier laboratory and animal research.
• An independent ethics committee oversees it.
• It complies with regulations and is listed in a recognized registry.
• It's designed to answer a specific question, often by comparing participants with a control group.
• Participants don't pay for the experimental treatment or the monitoring.

The NIH adds that trials move through phases. Early phases test safety in small groups. Later phases test effectiveness in larger groups and compare the new approach with standard care. Participation is voluntary, and you can leave at any time (NIH: The Basics). For a broader look at when a trial makes more sense than paying for treatment, see our guide to clinical trials vs. paying for stem cell therapy.

Searching ClinicalTrials.gov, step by step

ClinicalTrials.gov is the largest public registry. The NIH describes it as a searchable database of federally and privately supported studies in the US and worldwide (NIH: Finding a Clinical Trial). Here's a practical way to use it.

1. Start with the trial number if you have oneEvery registered study gets an ID that begins with “NCT” followed by eight digits. If a clinic gives you one, paste it straight into the search box. If they can't give you one, note that.
2. Otherwise, search by condition and interventionPut your diagnosis in the condition field (for example, “knee osteoarthritis”) and a term like “mesenchymal” or “stem cell” in the intervention or other-terms field. Add “Colombia” in the location field to see studies with sites there.
3. Filter by statusStudies marked “Recruiting” or “Not yet recruiting” are the only ones you could join. “Completed” studies are worth reading for their results.
4. Open the full recordRead past the title. The details that matter are in the design, eligibility, sponsor and contact sections, covered in the next part of this guide.
5. Check the historyEach record shows when it was first posted and last updated. A study that was registered after it started, or hasn't been updated in years, deserves extra questions.

How to read a trial record like a skeptic

Once you have a record open, work through these sections. You don't need medical training. You're mostly checking whether the study looks like research or like a product menu.

None of these questionable features proves wrongdoing on its own. Small early studies often have a single group, for example. But when several show up together and you're being asked to pay, slow down. Our guide on how to read a stem cell study helps with the published results that come out of trials.

Checking Colombian studies in INVIMA's registry

If a study claims to be authorized in Colombia, check Colombia's regulator directly. INVIMA (Instituto Nacional de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos) runs a public Buscador de Estudios Clínicos listing clinical research protocols authorized in the country. It's in Spanish, but it's simple to use:

• Universal search: type a protocol name, an active ingredient, or INVIMA's filing number (the radicado). The search ignores accents and capital letters. If you get nothing, try a single keyword such as “mesenquimales” or “células.”
• Filters: study status (for example Activo, Completado, Suspendido), phase I–IV, medical specialty and filing date.
• What each record shows: the protocol title, the acta (the minutes number and date from INVIMA's specialized review board that authorized it), status, sponsor or contract research organization, and often an NCT number that links back to ClinicalTrials.gov.
• Map view: shows the research sites, which helps you confirm the study is actually running where you'd be treated.

A study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with a Colombian site but missing from INVIMA's search isn't automatically fake. Registry data can lag, and observational studies may follow a different review path than drug-style trials. But it's a fair, specific question to ask: “What is the INVIMA radicado or acta number for this protocol?” Legitimate investigators can answer it.

Pay-to-participate listings: the loophole

Here is the uncomfortable part. In a 2017 paper in Regenerative Medicine, bioethicist Leigh Turner described US businesses that promoted unapproved stem cell treatments and recruited customers through “pay-to-participate” studies listed on ClinicalTrials.gov. He argued that the registry needed better screening, especially to check whether studies that require FDA clearance had actually received it (Turner, 2017).

The FDA's own guidance points the same way. It tells patients to treat charges for these products outside an FDA-overseen trial as a warning sign. It also notes that clinics generally need an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to legally give unapproved cell products in a US trial (FDA).

Outside the US, rules differ, and some legitimate programs do involve costs, such as travel or standard care that would happen anyway. The question isn't whether any money changes hands. It's whether you are paying for the experimental product itself, and whether the “study” has the independent oversight and comparison design that would make its results mean something.

Questions to ask the research team

Send these by email so you have the answers in writing:

• What is the NCT number, and (in Colombia) the INVIMA radicado or authorization number?
• Which ethics committee approved the study? Can I contact it?
• What question is the study designed to answer, and is there a control or comparison group?
• Will I pay for anything? If so, exactly what, and why? (The NIH suggests asking whether you'll pay for tests or study drugs.)
• What's the cell product, who makes it, and what testing is done on each batch?
• Who pays for care if I'm harmed, and who do I contact after I fly home?
• Will the results be published or posted on the registry, including if they're negative?
• Can I withdraw at any time without penalty?

Then share the record with your own doctor. The NIH recommends discussing any trial's risks and benefits with your provider first. For a picture of which stem cell trials are genuinely underway, see Stem Cell Clinical Trials in 2026. To check what the FDA has already approved, see our guide to the FDA's approved list.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information, not medical advice, and it does not replace an evaluation by a licensed physician who knows your history. Most stem cell treatments discussed on this site are not approved by the FDA or proven in completed clinical trials for the conditions they are marketed for; outcomes are not guaranteed and risks are real. Regulations and registry tools change, so confirm details with the official sources linked above. Colombia Stem Cell Treatment is an independent information site, not a clinic. If you ask us to, we may share your inquiry with providers, who may compensate our network for introductions; see our terms for details. No affiliate links appear in this article.