MedPath

Three-arm Study to Assess Efficacy and Safety of Ianalumab (VAY736) in Patients With Active Sjogren's Syndrome

Phase 3
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Sjogren Syndrome
Interventions
Other: Placebo
Registration Number
NCT05349214
Lead Sponsor
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Brief Summary

A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, 3-arm multicenter phase 3 study to assess the efficacy and safety of ianalumab in patients with active Sjogren's syndrome (NEPTUNUS-2)

Detailed Description

Three-arm study of the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of ianalumab (VAY736) in patients with active Sjogren's syndrome. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of ianalumab (VAY736) administered subcutaneously (s.c.) monthly or every 3 months compared to placebo in patients with active Sjogren's syndrome.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
506
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria
  • Presence of another autoimmune rheumatic disease that is active and constitutes the principal illness

  • Use of other investigational drugs within 5 half-lives of enrollment, or within 30 days or until the expected pharmacodynamic effect has returned to baseline, whichever is longer3. Prior treatment with ianalumab

  • Prior use of a B-cell depleting therapy other than ianalumab within 36 weeks prior to randomization or as long as B-cell count is less than the lower limit of normal or baseline value prior to receipt of previous B cell-depleting therapy (whichever is lower)

  • Prior treatment with any of the following:

    1. Within 24 weeks prior to randomization: iscalimab (anti CD-40 mAb), belimumab , abatacept, anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha biologic agents, immunoglobulins plasmapheresis;
    2. Within 12 weeks prior to randomization: i.v. or oral cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, i.v. or oral cyclosporine A or any other immunosuppressants (e.g., JAK inhibitors or other kinase inhibitors) unless explicitly allowed by protocol
  • Use of corticosteroids (predniso(lo)ne or equivalent corticosteroid) at dose >10 mg/day

  • Any one of the following laboratory values at screening:

    • Hemoglobin levels < 8.0 g/dL
    • White blood cells (WBC) count < 2.0 x 10E3/µL
    • Platelet count < 80 x 10E3/µL
    • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) < 0.8 x 10E3/µL
  • Active viral, bacterial or other infections requiring systemic treatment at the time of screening or randomization, or history of recurrent clinically significant infection or of recurrent bacterial infections with encapsulated organisms

  • History of hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs or its excipients or to drugs of similar chemical classes (e.g., mAb of IgG1 class) or to any of the constituents of the study drug formulation (sucrose, L-histidine hydrochloride/ L-histidine, polysorbate 20)

  • History of major organ, hematopoietic stem cell or bone marrow transplant

  • Required regular use of medications known to cause dry mouth/eyes as a regular and major side effect, and which have not been on a stable dose for at least 30 days prior to Screening, or any anticipated change in the treatment regimen during the course of the study.

  • Use of topical ocular prescription medications (excluding artificial tears, gels, lubricants) that have not been on a stable dose for at least 90 days prior to randomization, or any anticipated change in the treatment regimen during the course of the study

  • Receipt of live/attenuated vaccine within a 4-week period prior to randomization

  • History of primary or secondary immunodeficiency, including a positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test result

  • History of malignancy of any organ system (other than localized basal cell carcinoma of the skin or in situ cervical cancer or Sjögren's related lymphoma), treated or untreated, within the past 5 years, regardless of whether there is evidence of local recurrence or metastases.

  • History of sarcoidosis

  • Any surgical, medical (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, heart failure or diabetes mellitus), psychiatric or additional physical condition that the Investigator feels may jeopardize the patient in case of participation in this study

  • Chronic infection with hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV) virus. Positive serology for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) excludes the subject.

    • HBsAg negative subjects who are hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) positive are also excluded unless all of the following criteria are met:

      1. HBV DNA is negative
      2. hepatitis B monitoring is implemented - in these subjects, monthly testing of HBsAg and HBV DNA must be performed while on study treatment and at least every 12 weeks after end of treatment for the entire duration of safety follow-up.
      3. Antiviral prophylaxis must be implemented before the first administration of the study treatment, and continued up to 12 months after end of study treatment. If antiviral therapy cannot be given or if the patient is not willing to comply with the antiviral treatment requirement, the patient is not eligible for the study.
    • Hepatitis C: patients with positive hepatitis C antibody and HCV-RNA at screening are excluded. Chronic hepatitis C patients who have completed HCV anti-viral treatment must be HCV-RNA negative at least 12 weeks after treatment before randomization to be eligible. Cases of spontaneous HCV clearance should be discussed with sponsor before enrollment.

  • Evidence of active tuberculosis (TB) infection is exclusionary. Patient with previously treated TB and previously treated or newly diagnosed latent TB may be eligible.

  • Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women,

  • Women of child-bearing potential, defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant, unless they are using highly effective methods of contraception while on study treatment and for 6 months after stopping of investigational medication.

  • Patients with a known history of non-compliance to medication, or who were unable or unwilling to complete PRO questionnaires, or who are unable or unwilling to use the device for collection of PROs.

  • United States (and other countries, if locally required): Sexually active males, unless they agree to use barrier protection during intercourse with a woman of childbearing potential, while taking study treatment. As condom use alone has a reported failure rate exceeding 1% per year, it is recommended that female partners of male study participants use a second method of birth control.

Although ianalumab is not teratogenic and/or genotoxic, and not transferred to semen, male contraception is required, as requested by FDA.

Globally, for all sexually active males, contraception should be used in accordance with locally approved prescribing information of concomitant medications administered.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Arm BVAY736ianalumab exposure level 2
Arm CPlaceboplacebo
Arm AVAY736ianalumab exposure level 1
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from baseline in EULAR Sjögren Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) score at Week 48 as compared to placebo48 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A: US and US reference countries and Plan B: EU, China, other non-US Regions and EU reference countries)

Dose response measured by change multi-dimensional disease activity as assessed by the physician. Score range is 0-123. Higher scores on the EULAR Sjogren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) scale are associated with poorer health states A negative change from baseline indicates improvement in disease status.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Proportion of patients achieving ≥3 points reduction from baseline in ESSDAI score at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

Dose response measured by change multi-dimensional disease activity as assessed by the physician. Score range is 0-123. Higher scores on the EULAR Sjogren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) scale are associated with poorer health states A negative change from baseline indicates improvement in disease status.

Proportion of patients achieving ESSDAI<5 at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

Dose response measured by change multi-dimensional disease activity as assessed by the physician. Score range is 0-123. Higher scores on the EULAR Sjogren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) scale are associated with poorer health states

Proportion of patients achieving ≥3 points reduction from baseline in ESSDAI score at Week 2424 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

Dose response measured by change multi-dimensional disease activity as assessed by the physician. Score range is 0-123. Higher scores on the EULAR Sjogren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) scale are associated with poorer health states A negative change from baseline indicates improvement in disease status.

Proportion of patients achieving meaningful improvement in the Sjogren's Syndrome Symptom Diary (SSSD) score at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

The Sjogrens Syndrome Symptom Diary (SSSD) is questionnaire consists of five (six for females) questions about symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome, each question given a score of 0-10 (0=no symptoms, 10=worst possible symptoms) where patient choose the one response that best describes how severe the symptom was at its worst in the PAST 24 HOURS. It includes six symptom items (eye dryness, mouth dryness, skin dryness, physical fatigue, muscle and/or joint pain, genital dryness), and applies a recall period of 24 hrs. The aim of the SSSD is to establish patient reported endpoints for the treatment of Sjogrens syndrome. Participants will complete the diary daily for 7 days prior to the scheduled dosing.

Change from baseline in stimulated whole salivary flow rate at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

Both the amount and composition of saliva has been shown to reflect the glandular damage caused by the disease process of Sjögren's (Pijpe et al 2007). Unstimulated and stimulated salivary secretions are collected over 5 minutes. As much as possible the assessments are to be performed at a fixed time of the day to minimize fluctuations related to the circadian rhythm of salivary flow and composition (Dawes 1972).

Change from baseline in Physician's Global Assessment (PhGA) of disease activity at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

Physician global assessment of disease activity is made with relation to Sjögren's syndrome. Physician's global assessment (PhGA) of disease activity for Sjögren's syndrome is performed using 3 separate scales:

* Visual Analog Scale (VAS) - an unnumbered 100 mm long horizontal line ranging from "no disease activity' to "maximal disease activity". The assessment of patient's condition on the day is made by placing a vertical mark across the line.

* Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) - a segmented numeric version of the VAS. A respondent needs to select a whole number (0-10 integers), with 0 being "no disease activity" and 10 being "maximal disease activity".

* 4-point Likert scale - The level of disease activity is assessed on a scale from "inactive" to "high activity".

Change from baseline in Patient's Global Assessment (PaGA) of disease activity at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

Patient's global assessment (PaGA) of disease activity for Sjögren's syndrome is performed using 3 separate scales:

* Visual Analog Scale (VAS) - an unnumbered 100 mm long horizontal line ranging from "very good' to "very poor". The assessment is made by placing a vertical mark across the line.

* Numerical Rating Scale - a segmented numeric version of the VAS. A respondent needs to select a whole number (0-10 integers), with 0 being "very poor" and 10 being "very good".

* 4-point Likert scale - The level of symptom severity is assessed on a scale from "none to severe".

Change from baseline in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) score at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan A and B)

The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue Scale (FACIT-F version 4) is a short, 13-item, easy-to-administer tool that measures an individual's level of fatigue during their usual daily activities over the past week (Webster et al 2003). The level of fatigue is measured on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = not at all, 1 = a little bit, 2 = somewhat, 3 = quite a bit, 4 = very much).

Proportion of patients achieving ≥ 1 point or 15% reduction from baseline in EULAR Sjögren Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) at Week 4848 weeks

Efficacy (Plan B)

ESSPRI is an established disease outcome measure for Sjögren's (Seror et al 2011, Seror et al 2015). It consists of three domains of dryness, pain and fatigue.

The subject assesses severity of symptoms they experience on a single 0-10 numerical scale for each of the three domains. The ESSPRI score is defined as the mean of scores from the three scales: (dryness + pain + fatigue) /3. ESSPRI will be applied to the study patients at during runin period, at baseline and during study treatment.

Trial Locations

Locations (24)

Clinic of Robert Hozman

🇺🇸

Skokie, Illinois, United States

Providence Medical Foundation

🇺🇸

Fullerton, California, United States

Advanced Medical Research

🇺🇸

La Palma, California, United States

Bay Area Arthritis And Osteoporosis

🇺🇸

Brandon, Florida, United States

GNP Research

🇺🇸

Hollywood, Florida, United States

Sarasota Arthritis Res Ctr

🇺🇸

Sarasota, Florida, United States

Augusta University Georgia

🇺🇸

Augusta, Georgia, United States

North Georgia Rheumatology Group

🇺🇸

Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States

Clin Invest Specialists Inc

🇺🇸

Orland Park, Illinois, United States

Clinical Investigation Specialists, Inc.

🇺🇸

Wauconda, Illinois, United States

University of Kansas Hospital

🇺🇸

Kansas City, Kansas, United States

Tufts School of Dental Medicine

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Arthritis Osteoporosis Assoc of NM

🇺🇸

Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

St Lawrence Health System

🇺🇸

Potsdam, New York, United States

On Site Clinical Solutions Llc

🇺🇸

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Arthritis and Osteoporosis

🇺🇸

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

RAO Research LLS

🇺🇸

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

West Tennessee Research Institute

🇺🇸

Jackson, Tennessee, United States

Ramesh C Gupta MD Memphis TN

🇺🇸

Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Prolato Clinical Research Center

🇺🇸

Houston, Texas, United States

First Outpatient Research Unit

🇺🇸

San Antonio, Texas, United States

Advanced Rheumatology of Houston

🇺🇸

Spring, Texas, United States

Arthritis Northwest PLLC

🇺🇸

Spokane, Washington, United States

Novartis Investigative Site

🇬🇧

Swindon, United Kingdom

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath