Miltefosine/Paromomycin Phase III Trial for Treatment of Primary Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) Patients in Eastern Africa

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03129646
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: April 26, 2017
• Last Update Posted: June 11, 2021
• Sponsor: Drugs for Neglected Diseases
• Collaborators: The Netherlands Cancer Institute; The Institute of Endemic Diseases (IEND), University of Khartoum; Kenya Medical Research Institute; Makerere University; University of Gondar
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): Drugs for Neglected Diseases

Study Description

Brief Summary:

This is an open label, Phase III, randomized, controlled, parallel arm multicentre non-inferiority clinical trial to compare the efficacy and safety of two combination regimens of Miltefosine and Paromomycin with the standard SSG-PM for the treatment of primary adult and children VL patients in Eastern Africa.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Visceral Leishmaniasis	Drug: Miltefosine; Drug: Paromomycin; Drug: Sodium stibogluconate	Phase 3

Detailed Description:

The 2 treatment regimens to be tested are:

• Arm 1: Paromomycin 20 mg/kg/d IM for 14 days combined with oral miltefosine allometric dosing for 14 days
• Arm 2: Paromomycin 20 mg/kg/d IM for 14 days combined with oral miltefosine allometric dosing for 28 days (recruitment in this arm was discontinued under protocol v4.0 dated 22 Jul 2019)

The reference arm is the current standard treatment for VL:

• Arm 3: Sodium Stibogluconate 20 mg/kg/day IM/IV combined with Paromomycin 15 mg/kg/day IM for 17 days

The target population will be VL patients from 4 to 50 years old in order to cover both paediatric and adult population.

Patients will be hospitalized for 14 days of PM and MF treatment for both arm 1 and arm 2. MF treatment will start at the same time as PM treatment and for arm 2 it will continue on an out-patient basis until completion of the 28 days treatment.

SSG&PM combination therapy will be administered for 17 days according to routine VL treatment guidelines and patients will remain hospitalized for the entire duration of the treatment.

All patients will be asked to return to the hospital for a full assessment on day 28, and for followup visits on day 56 and at six months.

To respond to the objectives, study assessments will be carried out at screening and on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 56 (one-month post-treatment) and 210 (six-month post-treatment). These assessments will include clinical, parasitological, haematological, biochemistry, safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics assessments.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 439 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: An Open Label, Phase III, Randomized Controlled, Multicentre Non-Inferiority Trial to Compare Efficacy and Safety of Miltefosine and Paromomycin With SSG and PM Combination for Treatment of Primary Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) Patients in Eastern Africa
• Actual Study Start Date: January 24, 2018
• Actual Primary Completion Date: December 11, 2020
• Actual Study Completion Date: December 11, 2020

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Arm 1 - MF/PM 14d; Paromomycin 20 mg/kg/d IM for 14 days combined with oral miltefosine allometric dosing for 14 days	Drug: Miltefosine; Miltefosine 10mg and 50mg capsules; Other Name: Impavido; Drug: Paromomycin; Paromomycin sulfate equiv to 750mg paromomycin / 2ml amp; Other Name: Paromomycin sulfate
Experimental: Arm 2 - MF 28d/PM 14d; Paromomycin 20 mg/kg/d IM for 14 days combined with oral miltefosine allometric dosing for 28 days	Drug: Miltefosine; Miltefosine 10mg and 50mg capsules; Other Name: Impavido; Drug: Paromomycin; Paromomycin sulfate equiv to 750mg paromomycin / 2ml amp; Other Name: Paromomycin sulfate
Active Comparator: Arm 3 - SSG/PM 17d; Sodium Stibogluconate 20 mg/kg/day IM/IV combined with Paromomycin 15 mg/kg/day IM for 17 days	Drug: Paromomycin; Paromomycin sulfate equiv to 750mg paromomycin / 2ml amp; Other Name: Paromomycin sulfate; Drug: Sodium stibogluconate; Sodium stibogluconate 33% 30 ml inj.; Other Name: SSG

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Definitive Cure [ Time Frame: 6 months follow-up (Day 210) ]
   Cure at 6 months follow up defined as absence of clinical signs and symptoms of VL at D210 and no requirement for rescue treatment during the trial (e.g. no relapse or initial treatment failure).

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [ Time Frame: From Screening to day 210 ]
   1. Frequency of SAEs and AEs requiring treatment discontinuation
   2. Frequency and severity of adverse events from the start of treatment through the last visit, at day 210.
2. Initial cure at day 28 [ Time Frame: Initial cure: day 28; Probable cure: day 56 ]

   Initial cure: cure at the end of treatment (Day 28), defined as recovery of clinical signs and symptoms; absence of parasites (microscopy) and no rescue treatment administered up to and including Day 28.

   Probable cure: absence of clinical signs and symptoms of VL at D56 and no prior requirement for rescue medication.

3. Pharmacokinetics of paromomycin and miltefosine [ Time Frame: During treatment, at 1 month (day 56) and 6 months (day 210) follow-up ]
   Total and partial blood plasma exposure to paromomycin and miltefosine defined as the area under the concentration-time curve
4. Pharmacodynamics [ Time Frame: From baseline until day 210, and at any suspicion of relapse during the trial. ]
   Blood parasite clearance over time (qualitative and quantitative), as measured by qPCR from blood samples
5. Compliance to miltefosine treatment in an outpatient setting [ Time Frame: Day 15 to day 28 miltefosine treatment ]
   Compliance to MF treatment in an outpatient setting will be assessed through patients' hospital records history, drug accountability and PK measurements.

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 4 Years to 50 Years (Child, Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with clinical signs and symptoms of VL and confirmatory parasitological microscopic diagnosis
• Patients aged 4 to < 50 years who are able to comply with the study protocol.
• Patients for whom written informed consent has been obtained (if aged 18 years and over) or signed by parents(s) or legal guardian for patients under 18 years of age. In the case of minors, assent from the children also needs to be obtained as per each country regulatory requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are relapse cases
• Patients with Para-Kala azar dermal leishmaniasis grade 3
• Patients who have received any anti-leishmanial drugs in the last 6 months
• Patients with severe malnutrition (for children aged <5 years: weight-for-height WHO reference curves by sex, z score <-3; for children patients 5-18 years: BMI-for-age WHO reference curves by sex, z score < -3; for adults >18 years: BMI < 16)*
• Patients with positive HIV diagnosis
• Patients with previous history of hypersensitivity reaction or known drug class allergy to any of the study treatments
• Patients with previous history of cardiac arrhythmia or with a clinically significant abnormal ECG
• Patients suffering from a concomitant severe infection such as TB, schistosomiasis or any other serious underlying disease (e.g. cardiac, renal, hepatic) or chronic condition which would preclude evaluation of the patient's response to study medication
• Pregnant or lactating women
• Female patients of child bearing age who do not accept to have a pregnancy test done at screening and/or who do not agree to use contraception from treatment period until 5 months after the end of treatment (see section 15.2)
• Patients with haemoglobin < 5g/dl
• Patients with signs of severe VL according to Investigator's judgement, requiring an indication for AmBisome therapy based on the clinical manifestations (such as jaundice, bleeding, edema) and clinically significant abnormalities in the following laboratory parameters: haemoglobin, WBC, platelets, liver enzymes (ALT and AST), total bilirubin and creatinine
• Patients with pre-existing hearing loss based on audiometry at baseline

• Patients who cannot comply with the planned scheduled visits and procedures of the study protocol

  • Note: for Ethiopia only: Patients with severe malnutrition (for patients 4-18 years: MUAC cut-off based on MUAC-for-height reference table; for patients > 18 years: MUAC < 170 mm)

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Ethiopia

Abdurafi MSF Health Center

Ābderafī, Amhara, Ethiopia

University Hospital of Gondar

Gondar, Ethiopia

Kenya

Kacheliba Hospital

Kapenguria, West Pokot, Kenya, 30601

Sudan

El Hassan Centre for Tropical Medicine

Doka, Gedaref, Sudan

Tabarak Allah MSF Hospital

Gadarif, Gedaref, Sudan

Um El Kher Hospital

Gedaref, Sudan

Uganda

Amudat Hospital

Amudat, Karamoja, Uganda

Sponsors and Collaborators

Drugs for Neglected Diseases

The Netherlands Cancer Institute

The Institute of Endemic Diseases (IEND), University of Khartoum

Kenya Medical Research Institute

Makerere University

University of Gondar

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Jane Mbui, MD; Kenya Medical Research Institute
• Principal Investigator: Joseph Olobo, MD, Prof; College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda
• Principal Investigator: Ahmed M Musa, MD, Prof; Institute of Endemic Diseases, Sudan
• Principal Investigator: Rezika Mohammed, MD; University Hospital of Gondar, Ethiopia

More Information

Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):

Musa AM, Mbui J, Mohammed R, Olobo J, Ritmeijer K, Alcoba G, Muthoni Ouattara G, Egondi T, Nakanwagi P, Omollo T, Wasunna M, Verrest L, Dorlo TPC, Musa Younis B, Nour A, Taha Ahmed Elmukashfi E, Ismail Omer Haroun A, Khalil EAG, Njenga S, Fikre H, Mekonnen T, Mersha D, Sisay K, Sagaki P, Alvar J, Solomos A, Alves F. Paromomycin and Miltefosine Combination as an Alternative to Treat Patients With Visceral Leishmaniasis in Eastern Africa: A Randomized, Controlled, Multicountry Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Feb 8;76(3):e1177-e1185. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac643.

• Responsible Party: Drugs for Neglected Diseases
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03129646
• Other Study ID Numbers: DNDi-MILT/PM-01-VL
• First Posted: April 26, 2017
• Last Update Posted: June 11, 2021
• Last Verified: July 2020

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

• Plan to Share IPD: Undecided

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No
• Product Manufactured in and Exported from the U.S.: No

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Leishmaniasis; Leishmaniasis, Visceral; Euglenozoa Infections; Protozoan Infections; Parasitic Diseases; Infections; Skin Diseases, Parasitic; Vector Borne Diseases; Skin Diseases, Infectious; Skin Diseases; Paromomycin; Miltefosine; Antimony Sodium Gluconate; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiprotozoal Agents; Antiparasitic Agents; Antifungal Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Schistosomicides; Antiplatyhelmintic Agents; Anthelmintics