Anti-HIV Drugs for Treating Infants Who Acquired HIV Infection at Birth
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00102960 |
Recruitment Status
:
Completed
First Posted
: February 7, 2005
Last Update Posted
: July 22, 2014
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
---|---|---|
HIV Infections | Drug: Abacavir sulfate Drug: Didanosine Drug: Efavirenz Drug: Lamivudine Drug: Lopinavir/Ritonavir Drug: Nevirapine Drug: Zidovudine | Phase 3 |
In South Africa, an estimated 250,000 infants are born to HIV-infected mothers each year. A high percentage of perinatal HIV infections are due to inadequate or absent mother-to-child transmission prophylaxis. Unfortunately, even with optimal prophylaxis, relatively large numbers of HIV-infected infants will continue to be born and will require antiretroviral therapy (ART). Determining the appropriate times for initiating and interrupting treatment to benefit long-term prognosis in infants is a significant health challenge. Evidence suggests that starting ART early during acute infection will provide long-term benefits. However, longer duration of treatment increases the chance of developing drug-resistant virus, and continuous therapy begun early leads to long-term complications in children. This study will evaluate the efficacy of two different short-course ART strategies in HIV-infected infants from South Africa.
This study will last at least 3.5 years. There are two parts to this study. In Part A, infants with a baseline CD4 percentage (CD4%) of at least 25% and HIV infection diagnosed between 6 and 12 weeks of age will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment strategy arms. Arm 2 infants will receive ART for approximately 40 weeks until their first birthday. Arm 3 infants will receive ART for approximately 96 weeks until their second birthday. Treatment in both arms of Part A will begin with first-line, continuous treatment of zidovudine, lamivudine, and lopinavir/ritonavir. Those who were initially deferred treatment in Arm 1 will be reassessed for initiation of first-line, continuous ART.
In Part B, infants with a baseline CD4% less than 25% will receive continuous ART. First-line ART will be started in Arm 1 or restarted after interruption in Arms 2 and 3 if the appropriate criteria as defined in the protocol is met. First-line treatment of zidovudine, lamivudine, and lopinavir/ritonavir will continue until infants reach a study endpoint; when this occurs, infants will then change to second-line therapy. Second-line ART will consist of didanosine, abacavir sulfate, nevirapine and efavirenz.
Follow-up visits will take place for 3.5 to 6 years, depending on time of enrollment. All infants will receive routine immunizations and cotrimoxazole (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim) prophylaxis from age 6 weeks until Week 40. Study visits will occur at study entry, Weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 32, 40, and 48; and every 12 weeks thereafter. At these visits, infants will have vital sign measurements, a physical exam, and a medical history evaluation. Blood and urine collection will occur at all study visits. Infants' parents or guardians will also be asked to complete an adherence questionnaire.
Participants enrolled in CIPRA-ZA Project 2 are encouraged to enroll in an observational substudy organized by the Wistar Institute (Dr. Luis Montaner, Principal Investigator), in conjunction with the CIPRA team. This study is entitled,"Pediatric Immune Correlates of Early Anti-HIV Therapy." The goal of this 5-year substudy is to evaluate 120 HIV infected children from the parent study twice a year and compare them to HIV uninfected age-matched controls. Children will be evaluated by (a) characterization and identification of the innate and adaptive immune reconstitution outcomes of early (9 or 21 months) therapy in infants infected with HIV at birth and (b) identification of immune correlate outcomes to clinical progression within a period of 2 to 3 years of follow-up after stopping therapy.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Actual Enrollment : | 451 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | A Phase III, Randomized, Open-Label Trial to Evaluate Strategies for Providing Antiretroviral Therapy to Infants Shortly After Primary Infection in a Resource Poor Setting |
Study Start Date : | July 2005 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | September 2012 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | January 2013 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Experimental: 1A
For participants with a CD4 count of at least 25%, ART deferred until necessary
|
Drug: Abacavir sulfate
Second Line Regimen: 8 mg/kg taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Didanosine
Second Line Regimen: Either 100 mg/m^2 or 120 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Efavirenz
Second Line Regimen: taken orally once daily. Dosage depends on weight. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Lamivudine
First Line Regimen: 4 mg/kg taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
Drug: Lopinavir/Ritonavir
First Line Regimen: taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age and weight.
Other Names:
Drug: Nevirapine
Second Line Regimen: 150 - 200 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Zidovudine
First Line Regimen: 240 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
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Experimental: 2A
For participants with a CD4 count of at least 25%, receive 40 weeks of ART until first birthday
|
Drug: Abacavir sulfate
Second Line Regimen: 8 mg/kg taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Didanosine
Second Line Regimen: Either 100 mg/m^2 or 120 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Efavirenz
Second Line Regimen: taken orally once daily. Dosage depends on weight. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Lamivudine
First Line Regimen: 4 mg/kg taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
Drug: Lopinavir/Ritonavir
First Line Regimen: taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age and weight.
Other Names:
Drug: Nevirapine
Second Line Regimen: 150 - 200 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Zidovudine
First Line Regimen: 240 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
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Experimental: 3A
For participants with a CD4 count of at least 25%, receive ART for 96 weeks until second birthday
|
Drug: Abacavir sulfate
Second Line Regimen: 8 mg/kg taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Didanosine
Second Line Regimen: Either 100 mg/m^2 or 120 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Efavirenz
Second Line Regimen: taken orally once daily. Dosage depends on weight. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Lamivudine
First Line Regimen: 4 mg/kg taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
Drug: Lopinavir/Ritonavir
First Line Regimen: taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age and weight.
Other Names:
Drug: Nevirapine
Second Line Regimen: 150 - 200 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Zidovudine
First Line Regimen: 240 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
|
Experimental: 1B
For participants with a CD4 count less than 25%, receive continuous ART
|
Drug: Abacavir sulfate
Second Line Regimen: 8 mg/kg taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Didanosine
Second Line Regimen: Either 100 mg/m^2 or 120 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Efavirenz
Second Line Regimen: taken orally once daily. Dosage depends on weight. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Lamivudine
First Line Regimen: 4 mg/kg taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
Drug: Lopinavir/Ritonavir
First Line Regimen: taken orally twice daily. Dosage depends on age and weight.
Other Names:
Drug: Nevirapine
Second Line Regimen: 150 - 200 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily. Guidelines for switching from first line to second line therapy are available in the protocol.
Other Names:
Drug: Zidovudine
First Line Regimen: 240 mg/m^2 taken orally twice daily
Other Names:
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- Time to failure of first-line antiretroviral therapy or death [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Failure of CD4 percentage (CD4%) to reach a level of at least 20% by Week 24 of therapy (initial therapy or restart) or CD4% falls below 20% on two occasions, within 4 weeks, at any time after the first 24 weeks of therapy (initial therapy or restart) [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Development of toxicity requiring more than one drug substitution within the same class or a switch to a new class of drugs (regimen-limiting toxicity failure) or requiring a permanent treatment discontinuation [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Development of severe CDC Stage B or Stage C disease, as defined in the protocol [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Confirmed HIV-1 RNA value of at least 10,000 copies per/ml recorded on two consecutive separate occasions after 24 weeks of treatment (initial therapy or restart) [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Occurrence of severe CDC Stage B or Stage C disease or death (cumulative after 3.5 years) [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Occurence of Grade 3 or 4 (clinical or laboratory) adverse events [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Time from randomization to starting or needing to start continuous therapy [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Hospital admissions, time to first hospital admission, and duration of hospitalization [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Cumulative viral resistance mutations at the time of failure of first line therapy [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Time to death or death with a life threatening stage C event or HIV event associated with permanent end-organ damage [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 6 Weeks to 12 Weeks (Child) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria for Infants:
NOTE: Per Letter of Amendment dated 04/04/07, Part B of this study is no longer recruiting participants. Per Letter of Amendment dated 09/16/08 Arm 1 of this study is longer recruiting.
- HIV infected
- Antiretroviral naive. Infants who have previously received antiretroviral drugs used to prevent mother-to-child transmission are eligible for the study.
- Parent or legal guardian willing to provide informed consent and comply with study requirements
Exclusion Criteria for Infants:
- Any major life-threatening congenital abnormalities
- Severe CDC Stage B or C disease
- Liver enzyme, absolute neutrophil count, hemoglobin, electrolyte, creatinine, or clinical toxicity of Grade 3 or higher at screening
- Any acute or clinically significant medical event that would preclude participation in the study. Randomization can take place as soon as the incurrent illness has resolved if the child is still less than or equal to 12 weeks of age.
- Use of investigational drugs
- Require certain medications. More information on this criterion can be found in the protocol.
- Inability to tolerate oral medication
- Birth weight less than 2 kg (4.4 lbs)

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00102960
Principal Investigator: | James McIntyre, MBChB, MRCOG | Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand | |
Study Chair: | Avy Violari, MBChB, FCP (SA) | Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand | |
Study Chair: | Mark F. Cotton, MBChB, MMed | Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch |
Publications:
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
Responsible Party: | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00102960 History of Changes |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
CIPRA ZA 002 10404 ( Registry Identifier: DAIDS ES ) CHER 5R01AI062512-02 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) CIPRA-SA Project 2 |
First Posted: | February 7, 2005 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | July 22, 2014 |
Last Verified: | July 2014 |
Keywords provided by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):
Infant Perinatal HIV Disease Transmission, Vertical Anti-Retroviral Agents |
Treatment Interruption Treatment Naive Acute Infection Mother-to-Child Transmission |
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Infection Communicable Diseases HIV Infections Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Lentivirus Infections Retroviridae Infections RNA Virus Infections Virus Diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral Sexually Transmitted Diseases Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes Immune System Diseases Slow Virus Diseases Ritonavir Lopinavir |
Lamivudine Zidovudine Nevirapine Abacavir Didanosine Efavirenz HIV Protease Inhibitors Protease Inhibitors Enzyme Inhibitors Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action Anti-HIV Agents Anti-Retroviral Agents Antiviral Agents Anti-Infective Agents Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A Inhibitors |