Efficacy and Mechanisms of Macitentan for Non-Coronary Obstructive Angina (MAC-NOCA)

February 4, 2026 updated by: Jingang Zheng, China-Japan Friendship Hospital
Angina with non-obstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA) is highly prevalent, impairing quality of life and independently associated with cardiovascular events, yet effective treatments are lacking. The endothelin-1 (ET-1)-endothelin receptor (ETR) system is pivotal in ANOCA pathogenesis. Preclinical studies show that ETR blockade or pericyte-specific knockout of ETA receptor improves coronary microcirculatory function in models of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion and diabetes. Clinical evidence indicates ETR antagonists can enhance microvascular endothelial function and myocardial perfusion in ANOCA patients. However, prior studies diagnosed ANOCA based only on symptoms and angiography without precise microvascular functional assessment. Early ETR antagonists also showed frequent adverse effects (e.g., edema, headache), reducing treatment satisfaction. To address this, the investigators will conduct an open-label, single-center, single-arm trial using invasive coronary microcirculatory function testing to accurately phenotype ANOCA and assess microvascular changes. Patients on standard therapy will receive macitentan-a novel ETR antagonist with improved vasodilatory efficacy and safety-to evaluate its effects on coronary microcirculatory function, angina symptoms, and adverse events. Additionally, the investigators will perform multi-omics profiling (proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) on patient blood samples to identify molecular signatures linked to ANOCA subtypes and treatment response, providing evidence for precision intervention strategies in ANOCA.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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 (Estimated)

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.
40

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.
  • Early 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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100029
        • Recruiting
        • China-Japan Friendship Hospital
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-75 years old.
  • With typical angina symptoms.
  • Excluding obstructive coronary lesions (coronary stenosis ≤50% or FFR ≥0.8) by CAG.
  • Coronary microcirculatory function was confirmed via pressure wire-based thermodilution technique.（Patients were classified into subtypes based on coronary microcirculatory function indices: 1) Type I: CFR ≥ 2.5 and IMR < 25; 2) Type II: CFR ≥ 2.5 and IMR ≥ 25; 3) Type III: CFR < 2.5 and IMR < 25; 4) Type IV: CFR < 2.5 and IMR ≥ 25.）
  • Sign a written informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or lactating women.
  • History of heart attack within the last 90 days.
  • Severe heart disease (e.g., moderate to severe heart failure, severe heart valve disease).
  • Severe renal impairment (GFR <30 ml/min/1.73m2).
  • Severe liver disease (Child-Pugh class C).
  • Moderately severe anaemia (haemoglobin concentration <90 g/L).
  • Participation in another drug intervention trial study within the last 90 days.

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: Taking Macitentan Group
Drug: Macitentan 10 mg tablet, once daily.
After the patient signed an informed consent form, Macitentan was given as an oral medication (10 mg once daily) for a period of 4 weeks

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
Changes in coronary microcirculation function parameters assessed by CFR from baseline to week 4
Time Frame: the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 1 week; 4-week follow-up
Coronary Flow Reserve (CFR): A unitless ratio quantifying maximal coronary blood flow augmentation capacity, measured via thermodilution as the ratio of hyperemic to resting coronary flow. The commonly used cut-off value is 2.0 or 2.5. Increased ratio indicates improved microvascular dilation capacity.
the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 1 week; 4-week follow-up
Changes in coronary microcirculation function parameters assessed by IMR from baseline to week 4
Time Frame: the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 1 week; 4-week follow-up
Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR): A pressure-derived metric (units: mmHg·s) assessing microvascular resistance using thermodilution, calculated as distal coronary pressure multiplied by mean transit time during maximal hyperemia. The commonly used cut-off value is 25. Decreased value indicates reduced microvascular resistance.
the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 1 week; 4-week follow-up

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
Change in Score of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ)
Time Frame: Endpoint events before administration of macitentan, 1 week and 4 weeks after administration, and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.
The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) is a 19-item instrument designed to assess the impact of angina on patients' daily lives across five domains: physical limitation, angina stability, angina frequency, treatment satisfaction, and disease perception. Each item is scored on a 0-100 scale, where higher scores indicate fewer symptoms and better quality of life.
Endpoint events before administration of macitentan, 1 week and 4 weeks after administration, and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.
Re-hospitalization due to angina pectoris or heart failure, myocardial infarction, and cardiac death.
Time Frame: Endpoint events at 1 week and 4 weeks after administration of macitentan, and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.
Endpoint events at 1 week and 4 weeks after administration of macitentan, and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]
Time Frame: Endpoint events at 1 week and 4 weeks after administration of macitentan, and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.
All adverse events such as edema, anemia, headache, dizziness, and hypotension.
Endpoint events at 1 week and 4 weeks after administration of macitentan, and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal.

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.
China-Japan Friendship Hospital

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.
September 1, 2025

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.
August 31, 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.
August 31, 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).
January 22, 2026

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.
February 4, 2026

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.
February 6, 2026

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.
February 6, 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.
February 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.
December 1, 2025

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.
  • 2025-KY-351

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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