An Ascending Dose Study of DKB903 in Participants With Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Participants With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

November 2, 2026 updated by: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

A Two-part, First-In-Human, Phase I, Open-label, Ascending Dose Study to Assess Safety and Tolerability of DKB903 in Participants With Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Participants With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

The purpose of this First-In-Human (FIH), Phase 1, open-label, ascending dose study is to determine safety and tolerability of DKB903, in participants with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and participants with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in order to enable further clinical testing in these populations.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a two-part, FIH, Phase 1, open-label, uncontrolled, ascending dose study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of DKB903, in participants with RA and participants with SLE.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

90

Phase

  • 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 Backup

  • Name: Novartis Pharmaceuticals
  • Phone Number: +41613241111

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Key Inclusion Criteria:

  • Signed informed consent must be obtained prior to participation in the study.
  • Able to communicate well with the Investigator, to understand the study and willing to comply with the requirements of the study.
  • Immunization (primary or from vaccinations) against pneumococcus, influenza and COVID-19 at least 2 weeks prior to the first dosing.
  • Male and female individuals, aged 18 to 75 years at screening, diagnosed with RA according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) or 1987 ACR classification at least 12 weeks prior to screening.
  • Male and female individuals, aged 18 to 75 years at screening, diagnosed with SLE according to the 2019 ACR/EULAR criteria at least 12 weeks prior to screening.

Key Exclusion Criteria:

  • Body weight < 45 kg or > 145 kg and Body Mass Index (BMI) < 16 or > 39.
  • Use of prohibited medication or inadequate wash-out as per protocol.
  • Protocol-defined cardiac conditions or clinically significant ECG abnormalities or arrhythmia.
  • Clinically significant active, opportunistic, chronic or recurrent infection (including Human Immunodeficiency Virus [HIV], Hepatitis B [HBV], Hepatitis C [HBC], and Tubercolosis [TB]) confirmed by clinical evidence, imaging, or positive laboratory tests (e.g., blood cultures, PCR for DNA/RNA) within one month prior to or during screening.
  • Serious medical illness likely to interfere with participation in this clinical study.
  • Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP), defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant from menarche until becoming post-menopausal, unless they are using highly effective methods of contraception (failure rate < 1% per year) from the time of enrollment until weeks after last DKB903 administration.

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Part A- Cohort A-DKB903

Participants will receive DKB903 at escalating dose levels.

DKB903

Experimental: Part B- Cohort B-DKB903 dose level identified as safe in Part A

DKB903 dose level identified as safe in Part A, plus up to two additional full doses.

DKB903

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence and severity of Adverse Events (AEs) and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs)
Time Frame: From Day 1 up to approximately 2 years.

Number of participants with AEs and SAEs, including changes in vital signs, electrocardiograms (ECGs) and laboratory values qualifying and reported as AEs.

From Day 1 up to approximately 2 years.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Presence/absence of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) at baseline and over time
Time Frame: Baseline, up to approximately 2 years.

To assess the Immunogenicity (IG) of DKB903

Baseline, up to approximately 2 years.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

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 (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 20, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 21, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CDKB903A02101
  • 2026-526247-35-00 (Other Identifier: EU CT number)

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

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.