Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome.

GRT-R910: a self-amplifying mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosts immunity for ≥6 months in previously-vaccinated older adults

SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in high levels of morbidity and mortality world-wide, and severe complications can occur in older populations. Humoral immunity induced by authorized vaccines wanes within 6 months, and frequent boosts may only offer transient protection. GRT-R910 is an investigational self-amplifying mRNA (samRNA)-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine delivering full-length Spike and selected conserved non-Spike T cell epitopes. This study reports interim analyses for a phase I open-label dose-escalation trial evaluating GRT-R910 in previously vaccinated healthy older adults (NCT05148962). Primary endpoints of safety and tolerability were assessed. Most solicited local and systemic adverse events (AEs) following GRT-R910 dosing were mild to moderate and transient, and no treatment-related serious AEs were observed. The secondary endpoint of immunogenicity was assessed via IgG binding assays, neutralization assays, interferon-gamma ELISpot, and intracellular cytokine staining. Neutralizing antibody titers against ancestral Spike and variants of concern were boosted or induced by GRT-R910 and, contrasting to authorized vaccines, persisted through at least 6 months after the booster dose. GRT-R910 increased and/or broadened functional Spike-specific T cell responses and primed functional T cell responses to conserved non-Spike epitopes. This study is limited due to small sample size, and additional data from ongoing studies will be required to corroborate these interim findings.

1974. Title: A novel low-dose self-amplifying mRNA vaccine (GRT-R910) induces strong and broad boost in cellular and humoral immune response following primary series with a chimpanzee adenovirus SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

Disclosures

Ciaran Scallan, PhD, Gritstone Bio: Salaried employee of Gritstone|Gritstone Bio: Stocks/Bonds Andrew Ustianowski, MD, PhD, Gilead: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead: Board Member|Gilead: Honoraria|Gilead: Speaker fees|Pfizer: Honoraria|Pfizer: Speaker fees|Vir/GlaxoSmithKline: Advisor/Consultant|Vir/GlaxoSmithKline: Board Member.

Background

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues, with new variants of concern fueling periodic increases in COVID-19 cases. Authorized vaccines have provided protection against severe disease but less so for incident cases. Boosts with these vaccines have demonstrated waning protection. New vaccines, including those which induce immunity against more conserved regions outside of Spike, may improve upon these and be key to long-term protection and may be a useful approach against novel coronaviruses.

Methods

GO-009 (CORAL-Boost, NCT05148962) is an open-label study, conducted in the UK, of a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine encoding for Wuhan Spike (S) and highly conserved non-S T cell epitopes (GRT-R910; R910). R910 is given as 1 or 2 doses after vaccination with an authorized adenovirus or mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The first two cohorts assessed 10µg and 30µg doses of R910 in older (≥60y) adults who had previously received ChAdOx1. Subsequent cohorts assess two boost doses in older and younger adults who have received an adenovirus or mRNA vaccine. Primary objectives are safety and reactogenicity and secondary objectives include cellular and humoral immunogenicity.

Results

Ten and seven adults received 10 or 30µg (cohorts 1 and 2) of R910, respectively. Reactogenicity and unsolicited adverse events were mostly mild/moderate and transient. The majority of severe events (malaise, fatigue, myalgia, Inj. site pain/tenderness/swelling) after dose 1 were experienced by 1 subject in cohort 2. Analysis of both IgG binding and neutralizing antibodies demonstrated a boost of anti-S antibodies after one dose of R910; geomean ID50 titers from 92 to 2370 and 99 to 1553 for 10 and 30µg, respectively. ELISpot analyses demonstrated that R910 boosted and broadened T cell responses to S and non-S T cell epitopes.

Conclusion

R910 was well tolerated. One R910 boost vaccination increased existing humoral and cellular immunity against S while inducing a broad T cell response against non-S SARS-CoV-2 proteins. A 10µg R910 boost increased neutralizing antibody titers comparable to a 10-fold higher dose (100µg) with authorized mRNA vaccines in a similar population (Munro et al 2021). A 10µg dose was selected for further study. Data post mRNA primary series will also be presented.

Disseminated herpes simplex infection during pregnancy, rare but important to recognise

Disseminated herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection during pregnancy is a rare, but potentially fatal condition. We present a case where prompt treatment with intravenous acyclovir resulted in a successful outcome for both mother and baby.

Malaria therapy in HIV: drug interactions between nevirapine and quinine

We report the case of an HIV-positive Nigerian man on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with an undetectable viral load who presented with rigors, fever and back pain after returning to the UK from a three-week trip to Nigeria. Infection with Plasmodium falciparum malaria was confirmed and treatment with quinine commenced together with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and clarithromycin for possible respiratory infection. At the time of admission the patient could not remember the names of his ART medications. After 24 hours his parasitaemia had increased from 1% to 2.5% and his clinical condition had deteriorated. At this point, his ART was identified as abacavir, lamivudine and nevirapine. The Liverpool HIV-drug interactions website was checked for drug interactions. It recommends caution in the co-administration of both clarithromycin and quinine with nevirapine. Quinine is metabolized by CYP34A and exposure is likely to be decreased by induction of these enzymes in patients taking nevirapine. Given the clinical deterioration the patient was switched to Malarone® (atovoquone/ proguanil) which has no clinically significant interactions with nevirapine. He responded to treatment and was discharged home after 48 hours. This case highlights the importance of knowing the potential drug interactions with ART and the importance of checking for such interactions when prescribing new medications.

The development of hepatoportal sclerosis and portal hypertension due to didanosine use in HIV

Hepatoportal sclerosis (HPS) is one of several entities known to cause noncirrhotic portal hypertension. To date, its etiology is unknown. There have been increasing reports of HPS occurring in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued an advisory regarding the development of noncirrhotic portal hypertension in association with didanosine (ddI) use. We report on a patient with HIV who had taken ddI for 4 years and who developed portal hypertension. Histopathological review of paired liver biopsies showed an initial drug hepatotoxicity, microvascular liver injury, and the presence of HPS. Despite cessation of ddI, the latter biopsy showed resolution of the drug-induced injury, but it also showed progression of the HPS. The patient's portal hypertension also progressed suggestive of an unremitting vascular injury. This case demonstrates the development of HPS resulting from a drug-induced microvascular injury. The paired biopsies demonstrate that the initial vascular injury may disappear but that the portal hypertension and HPS progress.

Novel IFN-alpha receptor promoter polymorphisms

We have identified two single nucleotide polymorphisms and one dinucleotide microsatellite within the promoter region of the interferon-alpha receptor gene (IFNAR, GenBank accession number X60459). Allele frequencies in a Caucasian population were established using PCR-RFLP for the two SNPs and semi-automated genotyping for the microsatellite.