Efficacy and Safety of Mirogabalin in Uremic Pruritus

November 7, 2026 updated by: Mohamed Mamdouh Mahmoud Mohamed Elsayed , MD, Alexandria University

Efficacy and Safety of Mirogabalin for Uremic Pruritus in Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of mirogabalin in alleviating moderate-to-severe uremic pruritus in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis, and to establish the optimal dosing frequency by comparing continuous daily administration against intermittent post-dialysis administration.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

Uremic pruritus is a prevalent and distressing condition affecting over 60% of patients undergoing hemodialysis, with 20% to 40% experiencing moderate-to-severe symptoms. This condition is strongly associated with poor sleep architecture, depression, diminished quality of life, and an increased risk of mortality. The exact pathogenesis is multifactorial, involving metabolic disturbances, dysregulated immune responses, imbalances in the endogenous opioid system, and peripheral neuropathy.

While current off-label therapies for uremic pruritus include gabapentinoids targeting neuropathic mechanisms, their clinical utility in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is severely limited by dose-dependent central nervous system (CNS) toxicity, particularly somnolence and dizziness. Mirogabalin is a novel, preferentially selective α2δ - 1 ligand hypothesized to provide robust anti-pruritic efficacy with a significantly lower incidence of neurotoxicity. Because mirogabalin is primarily eliminated by the kidneys, this trial will evaluate the efficacy, safety, and optimal dosing frequency (daily versus post-dialysis intermittent dosing) to prevent drug accumulation in the hemodialysis population.

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.
120

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

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

  • Egypt
    • Egypt
      • Alexandria, Egypt, Egypt, 21526
        • Faculty of Medicine, Aexandria University
        • 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

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. ≥1 month of maintenance haemodialysis, 3 times per week for 4 hours.
  2. Adult patients with ages between 18-80 years.
  3. Patients presenting with moderate-to-severe pruritus, confirmed during the 7-day run-in period.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Primary skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis, allergic dermatitis or drug rash).
  2. History of Peripheral neuropathy, thyroid disease, leukemia, lymphoma, liver disease, Systemic lupus erythematosus or current pregnancy.
  3. Patients who consumed emollients cream, antihistamine, opioid antagonist, immunosuppressants, cholestyramine, corticosteroids or UVB phototherapy 1 month before study.
  4. Severe uncontrolled metabolic derangements defined as a calcium X phosphorus (Ca X P) >55.0 mg/dl, P >5.5 mg/dl, parathyroid hormone (PTH) >450 pg/ml.

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: Parallel 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.
Experimental: Mirogabalin (Intermittent)

Patients will receive mirogabalin 5 mg three times per week, administered immediately after each hemodialysis session for the 12-week duration.
Drug: Mirogabalin (Intermittent)

Patients will receive mirogabalin 5 mg three times per week, administered immediately after each hemodialysis session for the 12-week duration
Experimental: Mirogabalin (Daily)

Patients will receive mirogabalin 5 mg once daily for the 12-week duration.
Drug: Mirogabalin (Daily)

Patients will receive mirogabalin 5 mg once daily for the 12-week duration
Placebo Comparator: placebo

Patients will receive a matched placebo for the 12-week duration.
Drug: Placebo

Patients will receive a matched placebo for the 12-week duration

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
Change in Uremic Pruritus Intensity
Time Frame: Baseline to Week 12

The mean change in uremic pruritus intensity will be measured by two tools: the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the 5-D itch scale. The VAS ranges from 0 (no pruritus) to 10 (worst possible itching). The 5-D itch scale ranges from 5 to 25, with higher scores reflecting worse pruritus severity.
Baseline to Week 12

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
Percentage of Participants Achieving a Clinically Significant Reduction in Pruritus Severity
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12

Pruritus severity will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), which ranges from 0 (no pruritus) to 10 (worst possible itching). A clinically significant reduction is defined as a shift in severity grade, such as moving from severe/very severe ($\ge 7$) to mild/moderate (<7).
Baseline and Week 12
Incidence and Severity of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs)
Time Frame: Up to Week 12

Safety and tolerability will be evaluated and compared between the intermittent and daily mirogabalin arms. This measure will track the number of participants experiencing central nervous system adverse events (e.g., dizziness, somnolence, confusion) and gastrointestinal events (e.g., diarrhea, vomiting), along with the clinical grading of their severity.
Up to Week 12

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.
Alexandria University

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: Mohamed Mamdouh Elsayed, MD, University of Alexandria
  • Study Chair: Mohamed A Abdelhalim, MD, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria 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 (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2026

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.
March 1, 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.
April 1, 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).
November 7, 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.
November 7, 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.
November 13, 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.
November 13, 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.
November 7, 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.
November 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.
  • mirogabalin & uremic pruritis

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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