Modifying Immunity in Children With DihydROartemisinin-Piperaquine (MIC-DroP) (MIC-DroP)

June 4, 2026 updated by: Grant Dorsey, M.D, Ph.D.

Enhancing Immunity to Malaria in Young Children With Effective Chemoprevention

The MIC-DroP trial will test the hypothesis that preventing early life blood-stage malaria antigenic exposure with intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) enhances protective immunity to malaria. This study will take advantage of a unique opportunity to study infants born to mothers followed in a NIH-funded randomized controlled trial of novel intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy (IPTp) regimens (NCT04336189). MIC-DroP will leverage the parent IPTp study to enroll 924 children who will be randomized at 8 weeks of age to receive no intermittent preventive therapy in childhood (IPTc), monthly DP from 8 weeks to 1 year of age, or monthly DP from 8 weeks to 2 years of age, and then follow children to 4 years of age. The primary outcome of this study will be to compare the incidence of malaria from 2 to 4 years of age among children randomized to receive no IPTc, monthly DP for the first year of life, or monthly DP for the first two years of life. Investigators will also leverage this trial to evaluate immune development during early childhood.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

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.

Detailed Description

This study is a phase III, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 924 HIV- uninfected children. Children born to mothers enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial of different IPTp arms in pregnancy (NCT 04336189) will be enrolled in this study. In the parent IPTp study, 2757 HIV-uninfected pregnant women will be randomized to receive IPTp with monthly sulfadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) alone, monthly DP alone, or both monthly SP+DP, and followed through 4 weeks postpartum. At the 4-week postpartum visit, we will enroll and randomize 924 eligible children to one of three IPTc arms: no IPTc (the current standard of care), monthly DP from 8 weeks to 1 year of age, or monthly DP from 8 weeks to 2 years of age. Study drugs will be placebo controlled and all doses of study drug will be given by directly observed therapy (DOT). The intervention phase will be completed at 2 years of age, and children followed through 4 years of age. Study participants will be followed for all of their outpatient medical care in our dedicated study clinic. Malaria incidence will be measured via active case detection. Routine assessments will be performed in the study clinic for all study participants every 4 weeks, including passive surveillance for parasitemia by quantitive polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Venous blood will be collected for immunologic assays three times annually from 8 weeks to 4 years of age. All maternal assessments conducted during the parent IPTp study, including assessment for maternal malaria exposure (e.g., placental histology) household survey, will be available and linked to each study participant.

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.
924

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 3

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

  • Uganda
      • Tororo, Uganda
        • IDRC - Tororo Research Clinic

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

No older than 2 months (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Born to HIV-uninfected mother enrolled in parent clinical trial of intermittent preventative treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp-SP vs. IPTp-DP vs. IPTp-SP+DP, NCT 04336189)
  2. Resident of Busia District
  3. Provision of informed consent by parent/guardian
  4. Agreement to present for any illness and avoid, where possible, medications outside the study protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Intention of moving outside Busia district during the study period
  2. Active medical problem requiring in-patient evaluation or chronic medical condition requiring frequent medical attention

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

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.
Active Comparator: IPTc DP 1 year
DP given from 8 weeks to 52 weeks of age; DP placebo given from 52 weeks to 104 weeks of age; No IPTc in third and fourth years of follow-up.
Drug: Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP)
Duo-Cotecxin 20mg/160mg tabs by Holley-Cotec, Beijing, China Each treatment with DP will consist of half-strength tablets given once a day for 3 consecutive days according to weight-based guidelines.
Other Names:
  • Duo-Cotecxin
Other: DP Placebo
Placebos will be identical appearance to DP.
Active Comparator: IPTc DP 2 years
DP given from 8 weeks to 104 weeks of age; No IPTc in third and fourth years of follow-up.
Drug: Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP)
Duo-Cotecxin 20mg/160mg tabs by Holley-Cotec, Beijing, China Each treatment with DP will consist of half-strength tablets given once a day for 3 consecutive days according to weight-based guidelines.
Other Names:
  • Duo-Cotecxin
Placebo Comparator: No IPTc
DP placebo given from 8 weeks to 104 weeks of age; No IPTc in third and fourth years of follow-up.
Other: DP Placebo
Placebos will be identical appearance to DP.

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
Incidence of symptomatic malaria following cessation of IPTc
Time Frame: 2 years to 4 years of age
The incidence of symptomatic malaria, defined as the number of incident episodes of malaria requiring treatment per time at risk, during the period after the intervention was given (2-4 years of age). Treatments within 14 days of a prior episode are not considered incident events.
2 years to 4 years of age

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 complicated malaria
Time Frame: 2 years to 4 years of age
Any incident episode of malaria meeting World Health Organization criteria for severe malaria or danger signs per time at risk, during the period after the intervention was given (2-4 years of age).
2 years to 4 years of age
Incidence of hospital admissions and/or deaths
Time Frame: 2 years to 4 years of age
Admission to the pediatric ward for any cause, and deaths of any cause
2 years to 4 years of age
Prevalence of parasitemia
Time Frame: 2 years to 4 years of age
Proportion of routine visits with asexual parasites detected by blood smears or quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).
2 years to 4 years of age
Prevalence of anemia
Time Frame: 2 years to 4 years of age
Proportion of routine hemoglobin measurements <11 grams/dL
2 years to 4 years of age

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.
Grant Dorsey, M.D, Ph.D.

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.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Karolinska Institutet
Stanford University
Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Uganda

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: Prasanna Jagannathan, MD, Stanford University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
February 8, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
May 5, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
May 5, 2027

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).
July 23, 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.
July 23, 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.
July 27, 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.
June 8, 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.
June 4, 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.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • MIC-DroP
  • U01AI155325 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

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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