MedPath

A Study to Evaluate 3 Dose Levels of Luvadaxistat of Adults With Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Phase 2
Completed
Conditions
Schizophrenia
Interventions
Drug: Placebo
Drug: Luvadaxistat
Registration Number
NCT03382639
Lead Sponsor
Neurocrine Biosciences
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether add-on luvadaxistat is superior to placebo on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale Negative Symptom Factor Score (PANSS NSFS).

Detailed Description

The drug being tested in this study is called luvadaxistat. Luvadaxistat is being tested to treat negative symptoms in participants who have schizophrenia.

Participants will be randomly assigned (by chance, like flipping a coin) to one of the four treatment groups in the double-blind period-which will remain undisclosed to the participant and study doctor during the study (unless there is an urgent medical need):

* Luvadaxistat 50 mg once daily

* Luvadaxistat 125 mg once daily

* Luvadaxistat 500 mg once daily

* Placebo once daily

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
256
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Has a current diagnosis of schizophrenia as defined by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) 7.0.2 for Psychotic Disorders for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and the general psychiatric evaluation.
  2. Initial diagnosis must be greater than or equal to (>=1) year from screening.
  3. Is receiving primary background antipsychotic therapy (other than clozapine) at a total daily dose between 2 and 6 mg of risperidone equivalents. Concomitant treatment with a sub-therapeutic dose of a second antipsychotic may be permitted with sponsor or designee approval if used to treat specific symptoms, such as insomnia or anxiety (for example, quetiapine 25-50 mg or its equivalent as needed for anxiety), but not if it is used for refractory positive psychosis symptoms.
  4. Is treated with a stable regimen of psychotropic medications with no clinically meaningful change (no increase in dose, less than or equal to [<=] 25 percent [%] decrease in dose for tolerability) in the prescribed dose for 2 months before the screening visit and no dose adjustment is anticipated throughout study participation up to the Day 84/early termination visit.
  5. Has a BNSS total score (12-item, excluding number 4) >=28; stable Single-blind Placebo Run-in and baseline BNSS total (12-item, excluding number 4) scores (<= 20% change from the screening score).
  6. Has no more than moderate-severe (<=5) rating on PANSS positive symptom items P1, P3, P4, P5, P6, or unusual thought content (G9), with a maximum of 2 of these items rated '5'; no more than moderate (<=4) rating on conceptual disorganization (P2).
  7. There is evidence that the participant has stable symptomatology >=3 months prior to the screening visit (example, no hospitalizations for schizophrenia, no emergency room admission due to symptoms of schizophrenia, no increase in level of psychiatric care due to worsening of symptoms of schizophrenia).
  8. Have an adult informant who will be able to provide input for completing study rating scales, including the PANSS and SCoRS (for example, a family member, social worker, caseworker, residential facility staff, or nurse who spends >=4 hours/week with the participant) and is considered reliable by the investigator. The informant must be able and willing to provide written informed consent and to participate in at least 1 in-person interview, then be able to provide continuing input by attending each clinical assessment visit or via participating in a telephone interview for other study visits that include the PANSS or SCoRS endpoints.
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Exclusion Criteria
  1. Has a lifetime diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder; a lifetime diagnosis of bipolar disorder; or a lifetime diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder based on the MINI combined with the general psychiatric evaluation.
  2. Has a recent (within the last 6 months) occurrence of panic disorder, depressive episode, or other comorbid psychiatric conditions currently requiring clinical attention based on the MINI for DSM-5 and the general psychiatric evaluation.
  3. Has a diagnosis of substance use disorder (with the exception of nicotine dependence) within the preceding 6 months based on the MINI for DSM-5 and the general psychiatric evaluation.
  4. Is participating in a formal structured nonpharmacological psychosocial therapeutic treatment program (cognitive remediation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, intensive symptom/vocational rehabilitation) for a duration of less than (<) 3 months before randomization. In addition, initiation of such nonpharmacological treatment programs is not permitted during study participation through the Day 84 visit.
  5. The participant exhibits more than a minimal level of antipsychotic-induced parkinsonism symptoms, as documented by a score on the modified Simpson Angus Scale (SAS) (excluding item number 10, Akathisia) greater than (>) 6.
  6. Has evidence of depression as measured by a Calgary Depression Scale Score (CDSS) > 9.
  7. Is considered by the investigator to be at imminent risk of suicide or injury to self, others, or property, or the participant has attempted suicide within the past year prior to screening. Participants who have positive answers on item number 4 or 5 on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) (based on the past year) prior to randomization are excluded.
  8. Has a history of brain trauma associated with loss of consciousness for >15 minutes.
  9. Diagnosis of schizophrenia occurred prior to 12 years of age.
  10. Has received electroconvulsive therapy within 6 months (180 days) before Screening.
  11. Has a history of developmental intellectual disability or mental retardation.
  12. Antipsychotic plasma levels for the participant's primary background antipsychotic are below the minimum acceptable concentration criteria per the Antipsychotic Reference document at the screening or placebo run-in visits. This criterion is not applicable to participants on a primary background antipsychotic for which a clinical assay is unavailable.
  13. Is treatment resistant. Treatment resistance is defined as prior nonresponse of positive symptoms of schizophrenia to 2 courses of treatment with antipsychotics of different chemical classes for at least 4 weeks, each at doses considered to be effective.
  14. Does not have a stable residence or is homeless.
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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PlaceboPlaceboParticipants received placebo (matching luvadaxistat) orally QD for 12 weeks (Days 1 to 84).
Luvadaxistat 125 mgLuvadaxistatParticipants received luvadaxistat 125 mg orally QD for 12 weeks (Days 1 to 84).
Luvadaxistat 500 mgLuvadaxistatParticipants received luvadaxistat 500 mg orally QD for 12 weeks (Days 1 to 84).
Luvadaxistat 50 milligrams (mg)LuvadaxistatParticipants received luvadaxistat 50 mg orally once daily (QD) for 12 weeks (Days 1 to 84).
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change From Baseline on the PANSS NSFS at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

PANSS assesses the positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general psychopathology associated with schizophrenia. The scale consists of 30 items. Each item is rated on a scale from 1 (symptom not present) to 7 (symptoms extremely severe). Here, the PANSS NSFS subscale consists of 7 items which assess the negative symptoms with subscale score ranging from 7 to 49, where a higher score indicates greater severity. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as least squares (LS) mean change from baseline at Week 12, determined using a mixed model for repeated measures (MMRM). A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change From Baseline on the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) Composite Score at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

BACS is a cognition assessment battery and includes brief assessments of reasoning and problem solving, verbal fluency, attention, verbal memory, working memory and motor speed. The primary measure from each test is standardized by creating T-scores whereby the mean of the test session of a healthy person is set to 50 and the standard deviation set to 10. A composite T-score is calculated by averaging the 6 standardized primary measures. The composite T-score indicates how much higher or lower the participants cognition is compared to a healthy person. Lower T-scores are indicative of lower cognitive performance. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as LS mean change from baseline at Day 12, determined using a MMRM.

Change From Baseline on the PANSS NSFS at Week 4 and Week 8Baseline and Weeks 4 and 8

PANSS assesses the positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general psychopathology associated with schizophrenia. The scale consists of 30 items. Each item is rated on a scale from 1 (symptom not present) to 7 (symptoms extremely severe). Here, the PANSS NSFS subscale consists of 7 items which assess the negative symptoms with subscale score ranging from 7 to 49, where a higher score indicates greater severity. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as LS mean change from baseline at Weeks 4 and 8, determined using a MMRM. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.

Change From Baseline on the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) Total Score (12-item) at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

The BNSS is a 13-item instrument that measures 5 domains of negative symptoms: blunted affect, alogia, asociality, anhedonia and avolition. All items in the BNSS are rated on a 7-point (0-6) scale, with anchor points generally ranging from symptoms being absent (0) to severe (6). Here, the BNSS total score (12-item, excluding item 4) was calculated by summing the 12 individual items; total score range of 0 to 72, where a higher score indicates higher severity of negative symptoms. Participants required a BNSS total score ≥28 to be eligible for the study (excluding item 4). Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as LS mean change from baseline at Week 12, determined using a MMRM. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.

Change From Baseline on the PANSS Total Score at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

PANSS assesses the positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general psychopathology associated with schizophrenia. The scale consists of 30 items. Each item is rated on a scale from 1 (symptom not present) to 7 (symptoms extremely severe). The sum of the 30 items is defined as the PANSS total score and ranges from 30 to 210, where a higher score indicates greater severity. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as LS mean change from baseline at Week 12, determined using a MMRM. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.

Change From Baseline on the PANSS Positive Symptom Factor Score (PSFS) at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

PANSS assesses the positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general psychopathology associated with schizophrenia. The scale consists of 30 items. Each item is rated on a scale from 1 (symptom not present) to 7 (symptoms extremely severe). Here, the PANSS PSFS subscale consists of 7 items which assess the positive symptoms with subscale score ranging from 7 to 49, where a higher score indicates greater severity. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as LS mean change from baseline at Week 12, determined using a MMRM. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.

Change From Baseline on the Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia Severity (CGI-SCH-S) Negative Symptoms Score at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

The CGI-SCH scale is an adapted version of the CGI scale that is designed to assess global illness status in participants with schizophrenia. CGI-SCH-S is a 7-point scale that requires the investigator to rate the severity of the participant's illness at the time of assessment. Here, CGI-SCH-S negative symptoms score assesses the severity of illness for negative symptoms on the following 7-point scale: 1. normal, not at all ill; 2. borderline mentally ill; 3. mildly ill; 4. moderately ill; 5. markedly ill; 6. severely ill; or 7. among the most extremely ill. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. The number of participants with each CGI-SCH-S negative symptoms score at baseline and at Week 12 is reported.

Luvadaxistat Plasma ConcentrationsPre-dose on Day 1 and Week 4 and post-dose on Weeks 4, 6, 8 and 12

Blood samples were collected at pre-specified timepoints and plasma concentrations of luvadaxistat were measured. At Week 4, assessments were categorized as pre-dose or post-dose according to actual sampling time. Due to this, some participants may have had more than 1 record summarized for Week 4 pre-dose or Week 4 post-dose. Mean concentration on each visit was averaged from the observations over the time span of 24 hours post-dose or pre-dose.

Clinical Global Impression Schizophrenia Improvement (CGI-SCH-I) Negative Symptoms Score at Week 12Baseline up to Week 12

The CGI-SCH-I assesses the participant's improvement (or worsening). CGI-SCH-I requires the investigator to assess the participant's condition relative to baseline on a 7-point scale. Here, CGI-SCH-I negative symptoms score assesses the improvement for negative symptoms on the following scale: very much improved; 2. much improved; 3. minimally improved; 4. no change; 5. minimally worse; 6. much worse; or 7. very much worse. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. The number of participants with each CGI-SCH-I negative symptoms score at Week 12 is reported.

Change From Baseline on the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS) Interviewer Total Score at Week 12Baseline and Week 12

The SCoRS is an interview-based measure of cognitive functioning that is developed to specifically assess aspects of cognitive functioning in participants with schizophrenia. The items assess the 7 cognitive domains of attention, memory, reasoning and problem solving, working memory, processing speed, language functions and social cognition. The SCoRS total score is the sum of the 20 items and varies from 20 to 80 with 20 being the best outcome and 80 being the worst. Baseline was defined as the last observed value before the first dose of study treatment. Results are reported as LS mean change from baseline at Week 12, determined using a MMRM.

Trial Locations

Locations (54)

Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

🇺🇸

Los Angeles, California, United States

NZOZ Poradnia Zdrowia Psychicznego

🇵🇱

Kobierzyce, Poland

Centrum Medyczne Plejady

🇵🇱

Krakow, Poland

Centrum Medyczne "Luxmed" Sp. z o.o.

🇵🇱

Lublin, Poland

UMHAT 'Dr. Georgi Stranski', EAD

🇧🇬

Pleven, Bulgaria

Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico di Bari

🇮🇹

Bari, Italy

Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia (Presidio Spedali Civili)

🇮🇹

Brescia, Italy

Azienda Ospedaliera Citta della Salute e della Scienza di Torino

🇮🇹

Torino, Italy

Collaborative Neuroscience Network, LLC

🇺🇸

Garden Grove, California, United States

Synergy Clinical Research Center

🇺🇸

Lemon Grove, California, United States

Excell Research

🇺🇸

Oceanside, California, United States

Atlanta Center for Medical Research

🇺🇸

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Artemis Institute for Clinical Research, LLC

🇺🇸

San Diego, California, United States

NRC Research Institute

🇺🇸

Orange, California, United States

Connecticut Mental Health Center - Yale University

🇺🇸

New Haven, Connecticut, United States

The Dr. Alan & Diane Breier Prevention and Recovery Center for Early Psychosis

🇺🇸

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Research Strategies of Memphis, LLC

🇺🇸

Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Center for Behavioral Health, LLC

🇺🇸

Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States

Augusta University

🇺🇸

Augusta, Georgia, United States

Cherry Health

🇺🇸

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

Manhattan Psychiatric Center

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

Core Clinical Research

🇺🇸

Everett, Washington, United States

Community Clinical Research, Inc.

🇺🇸

Austin, Texas, United States

State Psychiatric Hospital - Lovech

🇧🇬

Lovech, Bulgaria

State Psychiatric Hospital "Sv. Ivan Rilski", Novi Iskar

🇧🇬

Novi Iskar, Bulgaria

Medical Centre "Sv. Naum"

🇧🇬

Sofia, Bulgaria

DCC "Sv. Vrach and Sv. Sv. Kuzma and Damyan", OOD

🇧🇬

Sofia, Bulgaria

Mental Health CenterVratsa EOOD

🇧🇬

Vratsa, Bulgaria

DCC "Mladost M" - Varna, OOD

🇧🇬

Varna, Bulgaria

CLINTRIAL s.r.o.

🇨🇿

Praha 10, Czechia

Narodni ustav dusevniho zdravi

🇨🇿

Klecany, Czechia

A-SHINE s.r.o.

🇨🇿

Plzen, Czechia

PRAGTIS s.r.o.

🇨🇿

Praha 2, Czechia

Vseobecna fakultni nemocnice v Praze

🇨🇿

Praha 2, Czechia

MUDr. Simona Papezova s.r.o.

🇨🇿

Praha 9, Czechia

Studienzentrum Nordwest

🇩🇪

Westerstede, Niedersachsen, Germany

Zentralinstitut fuer Seelische Gesundheit

🇩🇪

Mannheim, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany

Universitaetsklinikum Leipzig AoeR

🇩🇪

Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany

Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin - Campus Charite Mitte

🇩🇪

Berlin, Germany

Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova

🇮🇹

Padova, Italy

Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria- Universita degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

🇮🇹

Napoli, Italy

Przychodnia Srodmiescie Sp. z o. o.

🇵🇱

Bydgoszcz, Poland

Care Clinic

🇵🇱

Katowice, Poland

Medycyna Milorzab

🇵🇱

Lodz, Poland

NZOZ Syntonia

🇵🇱

Gdynia, Poland

Hospital Clinic de Barcelona

🇪🇸

Barcelona, Spain

Regional Psychoneurological Hospital #3

🇺🇦

Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine

Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre

🇪🇸

Madrid, Spain

CIH Kharkiv Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital #3

🇺🇦

Kharkiv, Ukraine

Kyiv CH on Railway Transport #2 of Branch Center of Healthcare Public Company Ukr Railway

🇺🇦

Kyiv, Ukraine

Ternopil RCCPH Depts of Psychiatry #2 (m) & Psychiatry #4 (f) Ternopil I.Ya. Gorbachevskyi SMU

🇺🇦

Ternopil, Ukraine

Transcarpathian Regional Narcological Dispensary

🇺🇦

Uzhgorod, Ukraine

Zhytomyr Regional Psychiatric Hospital #1

🇺🇦

Zarichany Vil., Ukraine

CI Kirovograd RPH Male dept#11,Female dep#17 Donetsk NMU

🇺🇦

Nove, Kropyvnytskiy, Ukraine

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