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Khoo SH, FitzGerald R, Saunders G, Middleton C, Ahmad S, Edwards CJ, Hadjiyiannakis D, Walker L, Lyon R, Shaw V, Mozgunov P, Periselneris J, Woods C, Bullock K, Hale C, Reynolds H, Downs N, Ewings S, Buadi A, Cameron D, Edwards T, Knox E, Donovan-Banfield I, Greenhalf W, Chiong J, Lavelle-Langham L, Jacobs M, Northey J, Painter W, Holman W, Lalloo DG, Tetlow M, Hiscox JA, Jaki T, Fletcher T, Griffiths G, Hayden F, Darbyshire J, Lucas A, Lorch U, Freedman A, Knight R, Julious S, Byrne R, Cubas Atienzar A, Jones J, Williams C, Song A, Dixon J, Alexandersson A, Hatchard P, Tilt E, Titman A, Doce Carracedo A, Chandran Gorner V, Davies A, Woodhouse L, Carlucci N, Okenyi E, Bula M, Dodd K, Gibney J, Dry L, Rashid Gardner Z, Sammour A, Cole C, Rowland T, Tsakiroglu M, Yip V, Osanlou R, Stewart A, Parker B, Turgut T, Ahmed A, Starkey K, Subin S, Stockdale J, Herring L, Baker J, Oliver A, Pacurar M, Owens D, Munro A, Babbage G, Faust S, Harvey M, Pratt D, Nagra D, Vyas A. Molnupiravir versus placebo in unvaccinated and vaccinated patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection in the UK (AGILE CST-2): a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 2 trial. Lancet Infect Dis 2023; 23:183-195. [PMID: 36272432 PMCID: PMC9662684 DOI: 10.1016/s1473-3099(22)00644-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The antiviral drug molnupiravir was licensed for treating at-risk patients with COVID-19 on the basis of data from unvaccinated adults. We aimed to evaluate the safety and virological efficacy of molnupiravir in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals with COVID-19. METHODS This randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 2 trial (AGILE CST-2) was done at five National Institute for Health and Care Research sites in the UK. Eligible participants were adult (aged ≥18 years) outpatients with PCR-confirmed, mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection who were within 5 days of symptom onset. Using permuted blocks (block size 2 or 4) and stratifying by site, participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either molnupiravir (orally; 800 mg twice daily for 5 days) plus standard of care or matching placebo plus standard of care. The primary outcome was the time from randomisation to SARS-CoV-2 PCR negativity on nasopharyngeal swabs and was analysed by use of a Bayesian Cox proportional hazards model for estimating the probability of a superior virological response (hazard ratio [HR]>1) for molnupiravir versus placebo. Our primary model used a two-point prior based on equal prior probabilities (50%) that the HR was 1·0 or 1·5. We defined a priori that if the probability of a HR of more than 1 was more than 80% molnupiravir would be recommended for further testing. The primary outcome was analysed in the intention-to-treat population and safety was analysed in the safety population, comprising participants who had received at least one dose of allocated treatment. This trial is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04746183, and the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN27106947, and is ongoing. FINDINGS Between Nov 18, 2020, and March 16, 2022, 1723 patients were assessed for eligibility, of whom 180 were randomly assigned to receive either molnupiravir (n=90) or placebo (n=90) and were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. 103 (57%) of 180 participants were female and 77 (43%) were male and 90 (50%) participants had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 infections with the delta (B.1.617.2; 72 [40%] of 180), alpha (B.1.1.7; 37 [21%]), omicron (B.1.1.529; 38 [21%]), and EU1 (B.1.177; 28 [16%]) variants were represented. All 180 participants received at least one dose of treatment and four participants discontinued the study (one in the molnupiravir group and three in the placebo group). Participants in the molnupiravir group had a faster median time from randomisation to negative PCR (8 days [95% CI 8-9]) than participants in the placebo group (11 days [10-11]; HR 1·30, 95% credible interval 0·92-1·71; log-rank p=0·074). The probability of molnupiravir being superior to placebo (HR>1) was 75·4%, which was less than our threshold of 80%. 73 (81%) of 90 participants in the molnupiravir group and 68 (76%) of 90 participants in the placebo group had at least one adverse event by day 29. One participant in the molnupiravir group and three participants in the placebo group had an adverse event of a Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 3 or higher severity. No participants died (due to any cause) during the trial. INTERPRETATION We found molnupiravir to be well tolerated and, although our predefined threshold was not reached, we observed some evidence that molnupiravir has antiviral activity in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with a broad range of SARS-CoV-2 variants, although this evidence is not conclusive. FUNDING Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saye H Khoo
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK; Tropical and Infectious Disease Unit, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
| | - Richard FitzGerald
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK,NIHR Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Geoffrey Saunders
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Calley Middleton
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Shazaad Ahmad
- NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Christopher J Edwards
- Human Development and Health School, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK,NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Dennis Hadjiyiannakis
- NIHR Lancashire Clinical Research Facility, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK
| | - Lauren Walker
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK,NIHR Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rebecca Lyon
- NIHR Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Victoria Shaw
- Clinical Directorate, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Pavel Mozgunov
- MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jimstan Periselneris
- NIHR Kings Clinical Research Facility, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Christie Woods
- NIHR Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Katie Bullock
- Molecular & Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Colin Hale
- NIHR Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Helen Reynolds
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Nichola Downs
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Sean Ewings
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Amanda Buadi
- NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - David Cameron
- NIHR Lancashire Clinical Research Facility, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK
| | | | - Emma Knox
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - I'ah Donovan-Banfield
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK,National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - William Greenhalf
- Molecular & Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Justin Chiong
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - Michael Jacobs
- Infectious Diseases, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Josh Northey
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | | | | | - Michelle Tetlow
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Julian A Hiscox
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK,National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Thomas Jaki
- MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Computational Statistics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Fletcher
- Tropical and Infectious Disease Unit, Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK,Clinical Sciences, Liverpool, UK
| | - Gareth Griffiths
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Taubel J, Hauke W, Rump S, Viereck J, Batkai S, Poetzsch J, Rode L, Weigt H, Genschel C, Lorch U, Theek C, Levin A, Bauersachs J, Solomon S, Thum T. Novel antisense therapy targeting microRNA-132 in patients with heart failure. Eur Heart J 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab724.0920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Cardiac microRNA-132-3p (miR-132) levels are increased in patients with heart failure (HF) and mechanistically drive cardiac remodelling processes. CDR132L, a specific antisense oligonucleotide, is a first-in-class miR-132 inhibitor that attenuates and even reverses HF in preclinical models.
Purpose
The aim of the current clinical Phase 1b study was to assess safety, pharmacokinetics, target engagement, and exploratory pharmacodynamic effects of CDR132L in patients on standard-of-care therapy for chronic ischaemic HF in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, dose-escalation study.
Methods
Patients had left ventricular ejection fraction between ≥30% and <50% or amino terminal fragment of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) >125 ng/L at screening. Twenty-eight patients were randomized to receive CDR132L (0.32, 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg body weight) or placebo (0.9% saline) in two intravenous infusions, 4 weeks apart in four cohorts of seven (five verum and two placebo) patients each.
Results
CDR132L was safe and well tolerated, without apparent dose-limiting toxicity. A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic dose modelling approach suggested an effective dose level at ≥1 mg/kg CDR132L. CDR132L treatment resulted in a dose-dependent, sustained miR-132 reduction in plasma. Patients given CDR132L ≥1 mg/kg displayed median 23.3% NT-proBNP reduction, vs. 0.9% median increase in the control group. CDR132L treatment induced significant QRS narrowing and positive trends for cardiac fibrosis biomarkers.
Conclusions
This study is the first clinical trial of an antisense drug in HF patients. CDR132L was safe and well tolerated, confirmed linear plasma pharmacokinetics with no signs of accumulation, and suggests cardiac functional improvements. The indicative efficacy of this drug is very encouraging justifying additional clinical studies to confirm the beneficial CDR132L pharmacodynamic effects for the treatment of HF.
Funding Acknowledgement
Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH
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Affiliation(s)
- J Taubel
- Richmond Pharmacology, London, United Kingdom
| | - W Hauke
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - S Rump
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - J Viereck
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - S Batkai
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - J Poetzsch
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - L Rode
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - H Weigt
- Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, Hannover, Germany
| | - C Genschel
- Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Hannover, Germany
| | - U Lorch
- Richmond Pharmacology, London, United Kingdom
| | - C Theek
- University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany
| | - A.A Levin
- Avidity Biosciences, La Jolla, United States of America
| | - J Bauersachs
- Hannover Medical School, Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Hannover, Germany
| | - S.D Solomon
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cardiovascular Division, Boston, United States of America
| | - T Thum
- Institute for Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies (IMTTS), Hannover, Germany
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