Evaluation of the Effect of Artesunate in Friedreich Ataxia (FA) (ARTEMIS)

May 18, 2026 updated by: Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Evaluation of the Effect of Artesunate in Friedreich Ataxia (FA) Phase I-II Efficacy-Toxicity of Artesunate in Friedreich Ataxia

This dose-escalation study is aimed at investigating a novel application for artesunate in the treatment of Friedreich ataxia. It will evaluate this novel application of oral artesunate using a surrogate biological marker as primary endpoint in a phase I-II open trial

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
20

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Paris, France
        • Centre d'Investigation Clinique, hôpital Necker Enfants Malades

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years to 61 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with FA confirmed by genetic analysis
  • Weight of at least 50 kg
  • Compliant patient agreeing to come to all protocol visits
  • Signature of consent form by patient or parents of minor patient
  • Patients with no treatment during 30 days prior to the first intake of study drug, except cardiac, diabetes and spasticity treatments
  • Patients agreeing to use effective contraception for the duration of the study and up to 91 days after the last dose of the study treatment
  • Affiliation to an Health Insurance Scheme of beneficiary of such a scheme

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient under justice protection
  • Female patients
  • Abnormal biological values of renal and liver functions and cell blood count (CBC)
  • Progressive associated disease
  • Treatment interfering with iron transport within 30 days before first intake of artesunate
  • Participation to another clinical trial
  • Hypersensitivity to artesunate or to any component of the drug
  • Blood potassium lower than normal value
  • QT / QTc interval > 450 ms on the ECG performed at inclusion
  • Congenital long QT syndrome
  • Family history of sudden cardiac death before the age of 50
  • Heart disease: ischemia or myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure or conduction disorder in the 6 months preceding inclusion
  • History of arrhythmia
  • Electrolyte imbalances: hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia
  • Bradycardia (<50 beats per minute)
  • Acute neurological events within 6 months prior to inclusion

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Artesunate

Dose escalation of oral artesunate:

Step 1: 25 mg daily (1 tablet) during one week Step 2: 50 mg daily (2 tablets) during one week (if no effect on biomarker and no adverse reaction at step 1) Step 3: 75 mg daily (3 tablets) during one week (if no effect on biomarker and no adverse reaction at step 2) Step 4: 100 mg daily (4 tablets) duing one week (if no efficacy and no adverse reaction at step 3)
Drug: Artesunate Oral Product
Dose escalation intake of artesunate

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Search for the maximal tolerated and effective dose of oral artesunate to regulate iron homeostasis and Transferrin 1 receptor (TfR1) immunofluorescence in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs)
Time Frame: at Day 7 (last day of drug intake)
Evaluation of the biological efficacy on an ex vivo marker in the absence of observed side effects. This is a binary criterion established by comparison between compared measurements of the biomarker. If an effect on the biomarker is observed from the initial dose, the dose escalation will stop as the "ex-vivo" efficacy criterion is met. Otherwise the test will be repeated at an escalating dose. If an adverse effect is observed for a given dose, the maximal tolerated dose will be considered to be the immediately lower dose.
at Day 7 (last day of drug intake)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of Adverse Events with Artesunate in FA patients
Time Frame: From first intake to 30 days after last intake of study drug
Rate of side effects according artesunate doses
From first intake to 30 days after last intake of study drug
Type of Adverse Events with Artesunate in FA patients
Time Frame: From first intake to 30 days after last intake of study drug
Desciption of side effects according artesunate doses
From first intake to 30 days after last intake of study drug
Impact of stopping an effective dose of artesunate on the regulation of iron homeostasis and TfR1 immunofluorescence
Time Frame: At Day 14 (7 days after the last drug intake)
Evolution of the response to treatment after one week without treatment in patients who presented a positive response: Comparison of the results of intracellular iron concentration in in vitro PBMCs obtained with the sample at the end of the week without treatment with those obtained at the end of the week under treatment at a given dose
At Day 14 (7 days after the last drug intake)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Imagine Institute

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Arnold Munnich, MD, Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 6, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 17, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 17, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 31, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 4, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 10, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 18, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • C20-54
  • 2021-000171-36 (EudraCT Number)

Drug and device information, study documents

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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