A Study to Learn About the Safety of Litifilimab (BIIB059) Injections and Whether They Can Improve Symptoms of Adult Participants Who Have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- Registration Number
- NCT04961567
- Lead Sponsor
- Biogen
- Brief Summary
In this study, researchers will learn more about a study drug called litifilimab (BIIB059) in participants with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study will focus on participants who have active disease and are already taking standard of care medications. These may include antimalarials, steroids, and immunosuppressants.
The main objective of the study is to learn about the effect litifilimab has on lowering the activity of the disease. The main question researchers want to answer is:
- How many participants have an improvement in their symptoms after 52 weeks of treatment? Researchers will answer this and other questions by measuring the symptoms of SLE over time using a variety of scoring tools. These include the SLE Responder Index (SRI), the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K), and the Patient Global Assessment - Visual Analog Scale (PGA-VAS).
Researchers will also learn more about the safety of litifilimab. They will study how participants' immune systems respond to litifilimab. Additionally, they will measure the effect litifilimab and SLE have on the quality of life of participants using a group of questionnaires.
The study will be done as follows:
* After screening, participants will be randomized to receive either a high or low dose of litifilimab, or placebo. A placebo looks like the study drug but contains no real medicine.
* All participants will receive either litifilimab or placebo as injections under the skin once every 4 weeks. The treatment period will last 52 weeks. Participants will continue to take their standard of care medications.
* Neither the researchers nor the participants will know if the participants are receiving litifilimab or placebo.
* There will be a follow-up safety period that lasts up to 24 weeks.
* In total, participants will have up to 22 study visits. The total study duration for participants will be up to 80 weeks.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 540
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Participant must be diagnosed with SLE at least 24 weeks prior to screening and must meet the 2019 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SLE, at screening by a qualified physician.
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Participant has a modified Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-200 (SLEDAI-2K) score ≥6 (excluding alopecia, fever, lupus-related headache, and organic brain syndrome) at screening (adjudicated).
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Participant has a modified clinical SLEDAI-2K score ≥4 (excluding anti-dsDNA, low complement component 3 [C3] and/or complement component 4 [C4], alopecia, fever, lupus-related headache, and organic brain syndrome) at screening (adjudicated) and randomization.
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Participant has BILAG-2004 grade A in ≥1 organ system or BILAG-2004 grade B in ≥2 organ systems at screening (adjudicated) and randomization.
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Participants must be treated with one of the following background nonbiologic lupus SOC therapies, initiated ≥12 weeks prior to screening and at stable dose ≥4 weeks prior to randomization:
- Antimalarials as stand-alone treatment
- Antimalarial treatment in combination with OCS and/or a single immunosuppressant
- Treatment with OCS and/or a single immunosuppressant.
Key
- History of or positive test result for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
- Current hepatitis C infection (defined as positive hepatitis C virus [HCV] antibody and detectable HCV ribonucleic acid [RNA]).
- Current hepatitis B infection (defined as positive for antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] and/or positive for total antibody to hepatitis B core antigen [anti-HBc] with positive reflex HBV DNA).
- History of severe herpes infection.
- Presence of uncontrolled or New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure.
- Active severe lupus nephritis where, in the opinion of the investigator, protocol-specified SOC is insufficient and use of a more aggressive therapeutic approach, such as adding intravenous (IV) cyclophosphamide and/or high-dose IV pulse corticosteroid therapy or other treatments not permitted in the protocol, is indicated; or urine protein-creatinine ratio >2.0 or severe chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 milliliters per minute per 1.73 meter square [mL/min/1.73 m^2]) calculated using the abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation.
- Any active skin conditions other than cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) that may interfere with the study assessment of CLE such as but not limited to psoriasis, dermatomyositis, systemic sclerosis, non-LE skin lupus manifestation or drug-induced lupus.
- History or current diagnosis of a clinically significant non-SLE-related vasculitis syndrome.
- Active neuropsychiatric SLE.
- Use of oral prednisone (or equivalent) above 20 mg/day.
NOTE: Other protocol defined Inclusion/Exclusion criteria may apply.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Litifilimab High Dose Litifilimab Participants who are receiving background nonbiologic lupus SOC therapy will receive high dose of litifilimab, subcutaneously (SC), every 4 weeks (Q4W), up to Week 48 with an additional dose at Week 2. Litifilimab Low Dose Litifilimab Participants who are receiving background nonbiologic lupus SOC therapy will receive low dose of litifilimab, SC Q4W, up to Week 48 with an additional dose at Week 2. Placebo Placebo Participants who are receiving background nonbiologic lupus SOC therapy will receive litifilimab-matching placebo, SC Q4W, up to Week 48 with an additional dose at Week 2.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Percentage of Participants Who Achieved a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Responder Index of 4 (SRI-4) Response at Week 52 Week 52 An SRI-4 response is a composite endpoint defined by the following criteria:
* Reduction from baseline of ≥4 points in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K).
* No new organ system affected as defined by no new organ system with British Isles Lupus Assessment Group-2004 (BILAG-2004) grade A and no more than 1 new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade B compared with baseline.
* No worsening from baseline in lupus disease activity as defined by \<0.3-point increase on 3-point Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) - Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
* No violation to protocol-specified medication rules.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Time to Onset of SRI-4 Response Sustained Through Week 52 Up to Week 52 An SRI-4 response is a composite endpoint defined by the following criteria:
* Reduction from baseline of ≥4 points in SLEDAI-2K.
* No new organ system affected as defined by no new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade A and no more than 1 new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade B compared with baseline.
* No worsening from baseline in lupus disease activity as defined by \<0.3-point increase on 3-point PGA-VAS.
* No violation to protocol-specified medication rules.Annualized Flare Rate Through Week 52 Up to Week 52 Annualized flare rate will be calculated as the total number of flares divided by the flare exposure time in days, and the ratio multiplied by 365.25.
Percentage of Participants Who Achieved a British Isles Lupus Activity Group (BILAG)-Based Combined Lupus Assessment (BICLA) Response by Visit Up to Week 52 The BILAG disease activity index evaluates SLE activity in number of organ systems, using a separate alphabetic score (A to E) assigned to each organ system defined as follows, BILAG A: severe disease activity; BILAG B: moderate disease activity; BILAG C: Stable mild disease; BILAG D: System previously affected but now inactive; BILAG E: System never involved. BICLA is a composite endpoint defined as BILAG-2004 improvement, defined as all BILAG-2004 grade A at Baseline improved to grade B, C, or D, and all BILAG-2004 grade B at baseline improved to grade C or D, no BILAG-2004 worsening in other BILAG-2004 organ systems such that there are no new BILAG-2004 grade A or greater than 1 new BILAG-2004 grade B, no worsening in the SLEDAI-2K total score compared with Baseline, no worsening from Baseline in lupus disease activity defined by \< 0.3-point increase on 3-point PGA-VAS and no violation to protocol-specified medication rules.
Percentage of Participants with a CLASI-A Score ≥10 at Baseline Who Achieved a 50% Improvement from Baseline in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index Activity Score (CLASI-50) Response at Week 16 Week 16 Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index - Activity (CLASI-A) score is used to evaluate lupus skin manifestations. CLASI-A scores of 0 to 9, 10 to 20, and 21 to 70 represent disease severity of mild, moderate, and severe, respectively. CLASI-50 is 50% of improvement form baseline in CLASI-A.
Percentage of Participants Who Achieved SRI-4, -5, or -6 Response by Visit Up to Week 52 An SRI-4 response is a composite endpoint defined by the following criteria:
* Reduction from baseline of ≥4 points in SLEDAI-2K.
* No new organ system affected as defined by no new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade A and no more than 1 new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade B compared with baseline.
* No worsening from baseline in lupus disease activity as defined by \<0.3-point increase on 3-point PGA-VAS.
* No violation to protocol-specified medication rules. SRI-5 and SRI-6 are computed with a minimal five-point or six-point improvement in SLEDAI-2K being required, respectively.Percentage of Participants with OCS ≥10 milligrams per day (mg/day) at Baseline Who Have OCS Reduction to ≤7.5 mg/day at Week 40, Which Is Sustained Through Week 52 with No Disease Worsening from Week 40 to Week 52 Week 40 up to Week 52 No worsening of the disease is defined as no new BILAG-2004 grade A or less than 2 new BILAG-2004 grade B since the last visit during the Week 40 to Week 52.
Time to First British Isles Lupus Activity Group-2004 (BILAG-2004) Severe Flare by Visit Up to Week 52 BILAG-2004 severe flare is defined as an A score for items recorded as worse or new. BILAG-2004 is evaluated by scoring each item of a list of signs and symptoms given as 4 = new; 3 = worse; 2 = same; 1 = improving; 0 = not present; and ND = not done.
Time to First Severe Flare as Defined by Safety of Estrogens in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment - Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index Flare Index (SFI) Up to Week 52 SFI severe flare is defined any of the following: change in SLEDAI instrument score to \>12; or new or worse: central nervous system SLE; vasculitis; nephritis; myositis; platelets \<60,000 per milliliter (/mL); or hemolytic anemia with hemoglobin \<7 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or decrease in hemoglobin \>3 g/dL and requiring: doubling prednisone dose; or increase to \>0.5 milligrams per kilogram per day (mg/kg/day) or hospitalization; or increase in prednisone dose to \>0.5 mg/kg/day; or new requirement for cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, methotrexate, or mycophenolate for SLE activity; or hospitalization for SLE activity; or increase in PGA score to \>2.5.
Percentage of Participants Who Achieved an SRI-4 Response at Week 24 Week 24 An SRI-4 response is a composite endpoint defined by the following criteria:
* Reduction from baseline of ≥4 points in SLEDAI-2K.
* No new organ system affected as defined by no new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade A and no more than 1 new organ system with BILAG-2004 grade B compared with baseline.
* No worsening from baseline in lupus disease activity as defined by \<0.3-point increase on 3-point PGA-VAS.
* No violation to protocol-specified medication rules.Percentage of Participants With at Least 4 Joints (Both Swollen and Tender) at Baseline Who Achieved a Joint-50 Response at Week 52 Week 52 Joint-50 response is 50% reduction in total active joint count from baseline. An active joint is defined as a joint with pain and signs of inflammation (e.g., tenderness, swelling or effusion). A 28-joint assessment will be performed to determine the active joint count, which is defined as the sum of tender and swollen joint counts.
Change from Baseline in Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) - Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score by Visit Up to Week 52 The PGA is an investigator-administered assessment used to quantify disease activity and is measured using an anchored VAS. PGA asks the investigator to assess the participant's current disease activity from a score of 0 (none) to 3 (severe), with the assessment made relative to the most severe state of SLE.
Percentage of Participants with Baseline CLASI-A Score ≥10 Who Achieved a CLASI-20, -50, -70, or -90 Response by Visit Up to Week 52 Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index - Activity (CLASI-A) score is used to evaluate lupus skin manifestations. CLASI-A scores of 0 to 9, 10 to 20, and 21 to 70 represent disease severity of mild, moderate, and severe, respectively. CLASI-20, -50, -70 and -90 represent 20%, 50%, 70% or 90% improvement from baseline in CLASI-A score, respectively.
Percentage of Participants with Baseline CLASI-A Score ≥10 Who Achieved a CLASI-A Score of ≤1 by Visit Up to Week 52 Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index - Activity (CLASI-A) score is used to evaluate lupus skin manifestations. CLASI-A scores of 0 to 9, 10 to 20, and 21 to 70 represent disease severity of mild, moderate, and severe, respectively. CLASI-A ≤1 represent the absolute score ≤1 in CLASI-A by visit.
Percentage of Time Spent in Lupus Low Disease Activity State (LLDAS) Up to Week 52 LLDAS is a composite endpoint defined as:
* SLEDAI-2K score ≤ 4, with no activity in a major organ system (renal, central nervous system, cardiopulmonary, vasculitis, fever); and
* No new features of lupus disease activity compared with the previous assessment; and
* Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment - Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SELENA-SLEDAI) PGA ≤ 1; and
* Current prednisone (or equivalent) dose ≤ 7.5 mg/day; and
* Standard maintenance doses of immunosuppressive drugs and approved biological agents.Change from Baseline in Lupus-Specific Health-Related Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (LupusQoL) Score Up to Week 52 The LupusQoL is a participant-reported, lupus-specific, health-related quality-of-life questionnaire (HRQoL) consisting of 34 items grouped in 8 domains: physical health, pain, planning, intimate relationships, burden to others, emotional health, body image and fatigue. Participants indicate their responses on a 5-point Likert response format, where 4 = never, 3 = occasionally, 2 = a good bit of the time, 1 = most of the time, and 0 = all the time. A LupusQoL score for each domain will be reported on a 0 to 100 scale, with greater values indicating better HRQoL.
Change from Baseline in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Score Up to Week 52 PHQ-9 is a participant-administered HRQoL questionnaire to screen for the presence and severity of depression. The PHQ-9 is a participant-reported outcome (PRO) that is used to measure depression in adults. It contains 9 questions. The PHQ-9 yields an overall severity score that can range from 0 to 27 with the following severity scores: 0- 4 = none; 5-9 = mild; 10-14 = moderate; 15-19 = moderate-to-severe; and 20-27 = severe.
Change from Baseline in Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI): Lupus Score Up to Week 52 WPAI questionnaire is a validated instrument to measure impairments in work and activities. The WPAI yields four types of scores: 1. Absenteeism (work time missed) 2. Presenteeism (impairment at work / reduced on-the-job effectiveness) 3. Work productivity loss (overall work impairment / absenteeism plus presenteeism) 4. Activity Impairment. Each score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater impairment and less productivity.
Percentage of Participants with Joint-50 Response by Visit Up to Week 52 Joint-50 response is 50% reduction in total active joint count from baseline. An active joint is defined as a joint with pain and signs of inflammation (e.g., tenderness, swelling or effusion). A 28-joint assessment will be performed to determine the active joint count, which is defined as the sum of tender and swollen joint counts.
Change from Baseline in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) Score Up to Week 52 FACIT-Fatigue is a participant-administered HRQoL questionnaire that evaluates participant's fatigue in the 5 broad categories: physical well-being, social/family well-being, emotional well-being, functional well-being and additional concerns. The level of fatigue is measured by questions assessed on a 5-point scale (0 = not at all; 1 = a little bit; 2 = somewhat; 3 = quite a bit; 4 = very much). The responses for each item are added to obtain a total score which ranges from 0 to 52, with a higher score indicating less fatigue.
Number of Participants with Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs) and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) Up to Week 52 An adverse event (AE) is any untoward medical occurrence in a patient or clinical investigation participant administered a pharmaceutical product and that does not necessarily have a causal relationship with this treatment. A TEAE is an AE that started or worsened in severity after the first dose of study treatment through 28 days after the last dose of study treatment or end of study (EOS) date, whichever comes earlier. An SAE is any untoward medical occurrence that at any dose results in death (a life-threatening event), in the view of the investigator, places the participant at immediate risk of death, requires inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization, results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity, results in a birth defect, or is a medically important event.
Number of Participants with Antibodies to Litifilimab Up to Week 52 Percentage of Participants With Sustained LLDAS as Defined by the Number of Participants With ≥ 3, ≥ 5, and ≥ 7 Consecutive Visits in LLDAS up to and Including Week 52 Up to Week 52 LLDAS is a composite endpoint defined as:
* SLEDAI-2K score ≤ 4, with no activity in a major organ system (renal, central nervous system, cardiopulmonary, vasculitis, fever); and
* No new features of lupus disease activity compared with the previous assessment; and
* SELENA-SLEDAI PGA ≤ 1; and
* Current prednisone (or equivalent) dose ≤ 7.5 mg/day; and
* Standard maintenance doses of immunosuppressive drugs and approved biological agents.Percentage of Participants who Achieved LLDAS at Week 52 Week 52 LLDAS is a composite endpoint defined as:
* SLEDAI-2K score ≤ 4, with no activity in a major organ system (renal, central nervous system, cardiopulmonary, vasculitis, fever); and
* No new features of lupus disease activity compared with the previous assessment; and
* SELENA-SLEDAI PGA ≤ 1; and
* Current prednisone (or equivalent) dose ≤ 7.5 mg/day; and
* Standard maintenance doses of immunosuppressive drugs and approved biological agents.Percentage of Participants With Baseline OCS ≥10 mg/day Who Achieved ≤7.5 mg/day at Week 52 Week 52 Change from Baseline in Short Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36) Score Up to Week 52 SF-36 determines participants' overall quality of life by assessing 1) limitations in physical functioning due to health problems; 2) limitations in usual role because of physical health problems; 3) bodily pain; 4) general health perceptions; 5) vitality; 6) limitations in social functioning because of physical or emotional problems; 7) limitations in usual role due to emotional problems; and 8) general mental health. Items 1-4 primarily contribute to the physical component summary (PCS) score of SF-36. Items 5-8 primarily contribute to the mental component summary (MCS) score of SF-36. Scores on each item are summed and averaged (range: 0=worst to 100=best). Increases from baseline indicate improvement.
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Trial Locations
- Locations (177)
University of Alabama at Birmingham
🇺🇸Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates, P.C.
🇺🇸Glendale, Arizona, United States
Care Access Research - Huntington BeachCare Access Research - Huntington Beach
🇺🇸Huntington Beach, California, United States
Valerius Medical Group
🇺🇸Los Alamitos, California, United States
The Practice of Medicine
🇺🇸Los Angeles, California, United States
R. Srinivasan, M.D., Inc. dba Monterey Park Medical Center
🇺🇸Monterey Park, California, United States
Neurovations
🇺🇸Napa, California, United States
Joo-Hyung Lee MD
🇺🇸Orange, California, United States
Medvin Clinical Research
🇺🇸Whittier, California, United States
RASF - Clinical Research Center
🇺🇸Boca Raton, Florida, United States
Scroll for more (167 remaining)University of Alabama at Birmingham🇺🇸Birmingham, Alabama, United StatesJose Enrique Rubio MosqueraPrincipal Investigator