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Phase 2 Study on Effects of Obeticholic Acid (OCA) on Lipoprotein Metabolism in Participants With Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Phase 2
Completed
Conditions
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT01865812
Lead Sponsor
Intercept Pharmaceuticals
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study was to determine if OCA had an effect on cholesterol levels in the blood in participants with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Detailed Description

This was a phase 2, open-label, multicenter study evaluating the effects of OCA on lipoprotein metabolism in participants with PBC; in particular, OCA's effects on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was utilized to quantify the changes in lipoprotein particle sizes and concentrations. Components of reverse cholesterol transport were also assessed.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
27
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Definite or probable PBC diagnosis as demonstrated by the presence of ≥ 2 of the following 3 diagnostic factors:

    • History of elevated alkaline phosphatase levels for at least 6 months
    • A positive anti-microbial antibody (AMA) titer or, if AMA negative or in low titer (<1:80), PBC-specific antibodies
    • Liver biopsy consistent with PBC
  2. Taking UDCA for at least 12 months (stable dose for ≥ 3 months) prior to Day 0 or unable to tolerate UDCA (no UDCA for ≥ 3 months prior to Day 0).

  3. Contraception: Female participants must have been postmenopausal, surgically sterile, or if premenopausal, were prepared to use ≥ 1 effective (≤ 1% failure rate) method of contraception during the trial and until at least 30 days after the last dose of Investigational Product.

  4. Must have provided written informed consent and agreed to comply with the trial protocol.

Key

Exclusion Criteria
  1. Participants with decompensated PBC (as determined by the Investigator).

  2. Severe pruritus or systemic treatment for pruritus (for example, treatment with bile acid sequestrants or rifampicin) within 2 months of Day 0.

  3. History or presence of other significant liver diseases including:

    • Active or chronic Hepatitis B or C virus infection
    • Primary sclerosing cholangitis
    • Alcoholic liver disease
    • Definite autoimmune liver disease or overlap hepatitis
    • Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

    Note: Participants with Gilbert's disease or those with a history of hepatitis B who were currently antigen negative and seroconverted were not considered exclusionary.

  4. Uncontrolled diabetes or other uncontrolled or unstable medical condition that may have interfered with trial results.

  5. Administration of any of the following medications as specified below:

    • Prohibited 28 days prior to Day 0: bile acid sequestrants including cholestyramine, colesevelam, colestipol or omega-3 fatty acid containing dietary supplements
    • Prohibited 3 months prior to Day 0 and throughout trial participation: serum-lipid modifying agents including 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, fenofibrate or other fibrates, nicotinic acid and derivatives, ezetimibe, Vitamin E (other than as standard dietary supplement)
    • Prohibited 6 months prior to Day 0 and throughout the trial participation: azathioprine, colchicine, cyclosporine, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, pentoxifylline; budesonide and other systemic corticosteroids; potentially hepatotoxic drugs (including α-methyl-dopa, sodium valproic acid, isoniazide, or nitrofurantoin)
    • Prohibited 12 months prior to Day 0 and throughout the trial participation: antibodies or immunotherapy directed against interleukins or other cytokines or chemokines
  6. Planned change in diet or exercise habits during participation in the trial.

  7. Presence or history of clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias that may have prohibited the participant from participating in the trial.

  8. If female: known pregnancy, or had a positive urine pregnancy test (confirmed by a positive serum pregnancy test), or lactating.

  9. Recent (3 months prior to day 0) participation in another trial involving OCA or participation in another investigational trial (30 days prior to Day 0) and during the trial.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
OCA: 10 mgObeticholic AcidObeticholic acid, oral administration, 10 milligrams (mg), 8 weeks
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Absolute Change From Baseline In High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) Cholesterol ConcentrationBaseline, Week 8
Absolute Change From Baseline In HDL Particle NumberBaseline, Week 8
Absolute Change From Baseline In HDL Particle SizeBaseline, Week 8
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Absolute Change From Baseline In HDL Particle SizeBaseline, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Week 8 In HDL Cholesterol Concentration At Week 12Week 8, Week 12
Median Change From Week 8 In HDL Particle Size At Week 12Week 8, Week 12
Median Change From Baseline In AlbuminBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In HDL Cholesterol Concentration At Weeks 4, 8, and 12Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Absolute Change From Baseline In HDL Cholesterol ConcentrationBaseline, Month 24/EOT
Absolute Change From Baseline In HDL Particle NumberBaseline, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total LDL ParticlesBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose

Results are reported in nanomoles per liter (nmol/L).

Median Change From Baseline In VLDL Particle SizeBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In HDL Particle Number At Weeks 4, 8, and 12Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Median Change From Week 8 In HDL Particle Number At Week 12Week 8, Week 12
Maximum Plasma Concentration (Cmax) Of OCA And ConjugatesWeek 8

Results are reported in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

Median Change From Baseline In LDL Particle SizeBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Time To Reach Cmax (Tmax) For OCA And ConjugatesWeek 8

Results are reported in hours (h).

Area Under The Concentration-time Curve From Hour 0 To Last Sampling Time (Hour 6) (AUC0-6) For OCA And ConjugatesWeek 8

Results are reported in hour\*nanograms per milliliter (h\*ng/mL).

Median Change From Baseline In Total CholesterolBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL) Cholesterol (Direct)Baseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In VLDL ParticlesBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In Lipoprotein-aBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In C-reactive ProteinBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Glycoprotein ABaseline, Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in picograms/milliliter (pg/mL).

Median Change From Baseline In HDL Particle Size At Weeks 4, 8, and 12Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12
Median Change From Baseline In Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)Baseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In Very Low-density Lipoprotein (VLDL) CholesterolBaseline, Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose

Results are reported in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Median Change From Baseline In Prebeta-1 HDL ConcentrationBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in microgram/milliliter (ug/mL).

Median Change From Baseline In Hyaluronic AcidBaseline, Month 12, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total Deoxycholic AcidBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total TriglyceridesBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In Lecithin-cholesterol Acyltransferase ActivityBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in nanomoles/milliliter/hour (nmol/mL/h).

Median Change From Baseline In Fibroblast Growth Factor-19Baseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Alanine AminotransferaseBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Aspartate AminotransferaseBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Prothrombin TimeBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in seconds (sec).

Median Change From Baseline In Total Lithocholic AcidBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Cholesteryl Ester Transfer ProteinBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in picomole/milliliter/minute (pmol/mL/min).

Median Change From Baseline In Macrophage Cholesterol EffluxBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported as a percentage of cholesterol.

Median Change From Baseline In Alkaline PhosphataseBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in units/Liter (U/L).

Median Change From Baseline In Prothrombin International Normalized RatioBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Amino-terminal Propeptide Of Type III ProcollagenBaseline, Month 12, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in micrograms/Liter (ug/L).

Median Change From Baseline In Total Bile AcidsBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total Endogenous Bile AcidBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total Cholic AcidBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1)Baseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose

Results are reported in grams per liter (g/L).

Median Change From Baseline In ApoA1/ApoB RatioBaseline, Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Median Change From Baseline In Apolipoprotein EBaseline, Week 4, Week 8/End of Treatment (EOT), Week 12, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT, Last Dose
Participants With Lipoprotein XWeek 12 and Last Dose

Lipoprotein samples were assessed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the presence/absence of Lipoprotein X. Lipoprotein X sometimes appears with advanced cholestasis and can confound assessment of other lipoprotein concentrations, particularly LDL.

Median Change From Baseline In Gamma-glutamyl TransferaseBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total And Unconjugated (Direct) BilirubinBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Hepatic StiffnessBaseline, Month 12, Month 24/EOT

Results are reported in kilopascal (kPa).

Median Change From Baseline In Total Chenodeoxycholic AcidBaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) ScoreBaseline, Month 12, Month 24/EOT

Change in ELF was calculated as ELF score at the end of the study minus ELF score prior to the intervention (at baseline). A decrease in the ELF score was considered good as it reflected a decrease in liver fibrosis, and an increase in ELF score was considered bad as it reflected an increase in liver fibrosis.

Change in ELF scores ranged from -0.56 (good) to + 0.68 (bad).

Median Change From Baseline In Tissue Inhibitor Of Metalloproteinases 1Baseline, Month 12, Month 24/EOT
Median Change From Baseline In Total UDCABaseline, Month 6, Month 12, Month 18, Month 24/EOT

Trial Locations

Locations (7)

McGuire DVAMC

🇺🇸

Richmond, Virginia, United States

Beth Israel Medical Center

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

Scripps Clinic

🇺🇸

La Jolla, California, United States

University of California, Davis Medical Center

🇺🇸

Sacramento, California, United States

University of Miami

🇺🇸

Miami, Florida, United States

Indiana University Medical Center

🇺🇸

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Swedish Medical Center

🇺🇸

Seattle, Washington, United States

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