Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of an Oral Aripiprazole/Escitalopram Combination Therapy in Participants With Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Phase 3

Terminated

Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Interventions: Drug: Escitalopram
Drug: Aripiprazole

Registration Number: NCT01111565

Lead Sponsor: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.

Brief Summary: This will be a multicenter, randomized, double-blind study designed to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of an oral Aripiprazole/Escitalopram combination therapy in participants with MDD who have demonstrated an incomplete response to a prospective trial of Escitalopram, and report a treatment history for the current MDD episode of an inadequate response to at least one and no more than three adequate trials of an approved antidepressant other than Escitalopram. An inadequate response is defined as less than a 50% reduction in depressive symptom severity as assessed by the participant's self-report on the Massachusetts General Hospital Antidepressant Treatment Response Questionnaire (ATRQ) and evaluated by the investigator as part of the participant's medical and psychiatric history. An adequate trial is defined as an antidepressant treatment for at least 6 weeks duration (or at least 3 weeks for combination treatments) at an approved dose as specified in the ATRQ.

Detailed Description: The study will be organized as follows:

* Screening Phase

* Single-blind Prospective Treatment Phase

* Single-blind Continuation Phase (Responder)or Double-blind Randomization Phase (non-Responder)

* 30 day Post Treatment Follow-up

Assigned Interventions:

* Escitalopram monotherapy

* Aripiprazole/Escitalopram combination therapy

* Aripiprazole monotherapy

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: TERMINATED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 137

Inclusion Criteria

Participants with a current diagnosis of a major depressive episode. The current depressive episode must be ≥8 weeks in duration
Participants willing to discontinue all prohibited psychotropic medication starting from the time of signing the informed consent and during the study period
Participants with a 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) Total Score ≥18 at the Baseline for the Prospective Treatment Phase

Exclusion Criteria

Lack of prior treatment with an antidepressant during the current depressive episode
Participants who report treatment with adjunctive or monotherapy antipsychotic treatment during the current depressive episode.
Participants experiencing hallucinations, delusions or any psychotic symptomatology in the current depressive episode
Participants with epilepsy or significant history of seizure disorders
Participants with a clinically significant current diagnosis of borderline, antisocial, paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal or histrionic personality disorder
Participants who have received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the last 10 years

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Phase B: Single-blind Prospective Treatment Phase	Escitalopram	Escitalopram 10 mg capsule, orally, once daily increased to 20 mg/day at the Week 1 (end of Week 1) based upon tolerability profile, for 8 weeks. No dose reductions were allowed after Week 4 and no dose increments were allowed after Week 3. Participants with incomplete response at the end of the Phase B (Week 8) entered Phase C and the rest of the participants continued to Phase B+.
Phase C: Aripiprazole/Escitalopram Combination	Escitalopram	Participants with incomplete response at Week 8 who were randomized to this arm group received aripiprazole 3, 6, or 12 mg capsule, orally, once daily in combination with the escitalopram 10 or 20 mg orally for 6 weeks (Up to Week 14), in Phase C. No dose adjustments were allowed for escitalopram during Phase C. Participants were titrated to the aripiprazole target dose of 12 mg/day at Week 9 if the initial 6 mg/day dose was tolerated.
Phase B+: Single-blind Phase B Responders	Escitalopram	Participants with response (≥50% reduction in depressive symptom severity in HAM-D17 Total Score; or a HAM-D17 Total Score of \<14 at Week 8 or a Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) Score of \<3 at the Week 6 or 8) at the end of the Phase B (Week 8) continued treatment with the single-blind escitalopram monotherapy at the dose (10 or 20 mg/day) taken during the final week of Phase B, for an additional 6 weeks (Up to Week 14), in Phase B+.
Phase C: Aripiprazole/Escitalopram Combination	Aripiprazole	Participants with incomplete response at Week 8 who were randomized to this arm group received aripiprazole 3, 6, or 12 mg capsule, orally, once daily in combination with the escitalopram 10 or 20 mg orally for 6 weeks (Up to Week 14), in Phase C. No dose adjustments were allowed for escitalopram during Phase C. Participants were titrated to the aripiprazole target dose of 12 mg/day at Week 9 if the initial 6 mg/day dose was tolerated.
Phase C: Escitalopram Monotherapy	Escitalopram	Participants with incomplete response at Week 8 who were randomized to this arm group received escitalopram monotherapy 10 or 20 mg capsule, orally, once daily, whichever dose was taken during the final week of Phase B for 6 weeks (Up to Week 14), in Phase C. No dose adjustments were allowed for escitalopram monotherapy during Phase C.
Phase C: Aripiprazole Monotherapy	Aripiprazole	Participants with incomplete response at Week 8 who were randomized to this arm group received aripiprazole 3, 6, or 12 mg capsule, orally, once daily for 6 weeks (Up to Week 14), in Phase C. Participants were titrated to the aripiprazole target dose of 12 mg/day at Week 9 if the initial 6 mg/day dose was tolerated. No dose increments were allowed after Week 12; however, doses may have been decreased at any visit, based upon tolerability.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Phase C: Mean Change From End of Phase B (Week 8) in the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) Total Score to End of Phase C (Week 14)	Week 8 to Week 14	The MADRS assessed severity of depressive symptoms. It ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 60 (higher scores indicating a greater severity of depressive symptoms). Participants are rated on 10 items (feelings of sadness, lassitude, pessimism, inner tension, suicidality, reduced sleep or appetite, difficulty concentrating, and a lack of interest) each on a 7-point scale from 0 (no symptoms) to 6 (symptoms of maximum severity). A negative change (or decrease) from baseline indicates a reduction (or improvement) in symptoms. Last observation carried forward (LOCF) method was used for analyses.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Phase C: Mean Change From End of Phase B (Week 8) in the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) Mean Score to End of Phase C (Week 14)	Week 8 to Week 14	SDS is a 3-item clinician-rated questionnaire used to evaluate impairments in the domains of work, social life/leisure, and family life/home responsibility. The participant is asked to rate the degree to which their functioning is impaired on an 11-point scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely). Scores of 0 to 3 indicate mild functional impairment, 4 to 6 indicate moderate functional impairment, and 7 to 9 indicate marked functional impairment. The scores for the 3 domains are summed into a total score that ranges from 0 (unimpaired) to 30 (highly impaired). A higher score indicates greater impairment. A negative change score indicates improvement. LOCF method was used for analyses.
Phase C: Clinical Global Impression - Improvement Scale (CGI-I) Score at the End of Phase C	Week 14	CGI-I is a 7-point clinician-rated scale ranging from 1 to 7, rated as 1, very much improved; 2, much improved; 3, minimally improved; 4, no change; 5, minimally worse; 6, much worse; or 7, very much worse. A higher score indicates greater impairment. LOCF method was used for analyses.