Safety and Therapeutic Efficacy of the VRC01 Antibody in Patients Who Initiated Antiretroviral Therapy During Early Acute HIV Infection

Phase 2

Completed

• Conditions: HIV Infections
• Interventions: Biological: VRC01; Biological: Placebo for VRC01

• Registration Number: NCT02664415
• Lead Sponsor: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Brief Summary

The study will evaluate the safety and therapeutic efficacy of the human monoclonal antibody (mAb) VRC-HIVMAB060-00-AB (VRC01), when administered during analytic treatment interruption (ATI), in adults who began antiretroviral therapy (ART) during early acute HIV infection.

Detailed Description

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) may have the potential to treat HIV infection by preventing the spread of the virus. This study will evaluate an experimental mAb known as VRC-HIVMAB060-00-AB (VRC01). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and therapeutic efficacy of VRC01, when administered during analytic treatment interruption (ATI), in adults who began antiretroviral therapy (ART) during early acute HIV infection.

The study will enroll participants from the RV 254 study who were diagnosed during early acute HIV infection and who have been on ART. At study entry, participants will stop taking their antiretroviral (ARV) medications. They will be randomly assigned to receive an intravenous (IV) infusion of VRC01 or placebo at Weeks 0 (study entry), 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24. For 7 days following each infusion, participants will be asked to record and report any symptoms to study researchers.

In addition to the infusion visits, participants will attend follow-up visits for 48 weeks. Study visits may include physical examinations, blood collection, and urine collection. Neurocognitive testing will take place at select study visits. Some participants may take part in optional study procedures including mucosal secretion collection, MRI brain scan, colon biopsy, lymph node biopsy, leukapheresis, and lumbar puncture.

Study staff will monitor participants' HIV throughout the study, and participants will end their participation in the study and restart their ARV medications, if needed.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2016-01-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-01-22
• Study First Posted: 2016-01-27
• Study Start: 2016-08
• Primary Completion: 2017-08-04
• Study Completion: 2017-08-04
• Results First Submitted: 2018-08-03
• Results First Submitted QC: 2018-10-16
• Results First Posted: 2018-10-17
• Status Verified: 2021-10
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-10-29
• Last Update Posted: 2021-11-02

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 23

Inclusion Criteria

• Able and willing to provide written informed consent or, in the case of illiteracy, witnessed verbal informed consent with documentation of a thumbprint in lieu of a signature.
• Passes Test of Understanding.
• Man or woman aged 20-50 years.
• Initiated on ART during acute HIV infection (Fiebig Stage I to III at RV 254 enrollment).
• Prescribed ART for at least 24 months prior to enrollment.
• HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/mL on at least three consecutive measurements within the past 12 months.
• Integrated HIV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) below the level of detection (1 copy/10^5 PBMCs) within 6 months prior to enrollment.
• Last documented peripheral blood CD4 greater than 400 cells/mm^3 within 3 months prior to enrollment.
• No HIV-related or AIDS-defining illness within 6 months prior to enrollment.
• In general good health.
• Able to participate in study visits.

Female-Specific Criteria:

• Agrees not to become pregnant from the time of study enrollment until the last study visit. If a woman is sexually active and has no history of hysterectomy or tubal ligation or menopause, she must agree to use a prescription birth control method or a barrier birth control method.
• Negative beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) pregnancy test (urine or serum) on day of enrollment for any women unless she is post-menopause for 24 consecutive months or has undergone a surgical procedure that precludes pregnancy.

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Exclusion Criteria

• Previous receipt of humanized or human monoclonal antibody whether licensed or investigational.
• Ongoing AIDS-related opportunistic infection (including oral thrush).
• Active injection drug use within previous 12 months.
• History of a severe allergic reaction with generalized urticaria, angioedema, or anaphylaxis in the 2 years prior to enrollment.
• History of chronic urticaria requiring daily treatment.
• Physical finding on examination considered indicative of significant disease such as murmur (other than functional), hepatosplenomegaly, or focal neurologic deficit.
• Hypertension that is not well controlled by medication.
• Hepatitis B surface antigen positive at any time in the past.
• Hepatitis C antibody positive at any time in the past.
• Untreated syphilis.
• Estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 50 ml/min within the past 90 days.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Receipt of licensed vaccine or other investigational study agent within 28 days prior to enrollment or past participation in an investigational HIV vaccine study with receipt of active product.
• Current or planned participation in another interventional clinical trial during the study period.
• Chronic or recurrent use of medications that modify host immune response, e.g., oral or parenteral steroids, cancer chemotherapy.
• Any other chronic or clinically significant medical condition that in the opinion of investigator would jeopardize the safety or rights of the volunteer. Including, but not limited to: diabetes mellitus type I, chronic hepatitis, renal failure; OR clinically significant forms of: drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, severe asthma, autoimmune disease, psychiatric disorders, heart disease, or cancer.
• Study site employee.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
VRC01	VRC01	Participants will receive an intravenous (IV) infusion of 40 mg/kg of VRC01 at Week 0 and every 3 weeks until Week 24 or until criteria for resumption of ART are met.
Placebo for VRC01	Placebo for VRC01	Participants will receive an IV infusion of placebo at Week 0 and every 3 weeks until Week 24 or until criteria for resumption of ART are met.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants With Serious Adverse Event	Measured up to 10 weeks after last infusion of VRC01 or placebo	Participants were monitored for up to 10 weeks after the last infusion of VRC01 or placebo
Number of Participants With Sustained Virologic Suppression	Measured through 24 weeks after ATI	Number of participants who sustained virologic control (HIV RNA \<50 copies/mL), without indication for ART resumption at week 24.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Time to ART Resumption for Any Reason After Cessation of ART	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	This is the days from ATI to ART resumptions.
Change in CD4+ T Cell Count From ATI to ART Resumption	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption	This is change in CD4+ T cell count from ATI to ART resumption.
Number of Participants With Acute Retroviral Syndrome (ARS)	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	This is the number of participants who have developed during ATI.
Level of Rebound Viremia After Cessation of ART	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	This is the HIV-1 RNA levels (copies/mL) at first detection and ART resumption.
Total HIV DNA in the Peripheral Compartment	Measured from ATI through 6 months after ART resumption	This is total HIV DNA levels at baseline ATI, ART resumption and 6 month after ART resumption
Computed Score on the Control and Attention Task (i.e., Flanker Task)	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	The Flanker is a measure of executive function, specifically tapping inhibitory control and attention.The scores range from 0 to 10. A higher scores indicate higher levels of ability to attend to relevant stimuli and inhibit attention from irrelevant stimuli.
Number of Participants Hospitalized.	Measured up to 10 weeks after the last infusion of VRC01 or placebo	Participants were monitored for up to 10 weeks after the last infusion of VRC01 or placebo
Time to Viral Rebound After Cessation of ART	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	This is the days from Analytic Treatment Interruption (ATI) to: 1. HIV RNA \>= 20 copies/mL.; 2. HIV RNA \>= 1000 copies/mL
Number of Participants With Detectable HIV-1 RNA Via Single Copy Assay	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	This is number of participants who had detectable HIV-1 RNA via the ultrasensitive single copy assay prior to detectability on the routine assay.
Neuropsychological Battery Performance	Measured from Baseline ATI through ART resumption.	This is a NPZ-4 score,a 4-test NP battery evaluated fine motor function/manual dexterity \[Grooved Pegboard test (GP), non-dominant hand\], psychomotor speed \[Color Trails 1 (CT1), Trail Making A (TM)\], and executive function/set shifting \[Color Trails 2 (CT2)\]. Individual test raw scores were converted to z-scores. Z-scores range from -3 standard deviations up to +3 standard deviations. Higher scores indicate better test performance and lower cognitive impairment.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

SEARCH Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre Non-Network CRS; 🇹🇭 Bangkok, Thailand