Novel Therapies for Resistant FSGS (FONTII): Phase II Clinical Trial (FONTII)

Novel Therapies for Resistant Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis

This project will test whether adalimumab,and/or galactose can safely reduce proteinuria (abnormal amounts of protein in the urine) and protect kidney function better than standard treatment for patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Adalimumab; Drug: Lisinopril, losartan, and atorvastatin; Drug: galactose

Detailed Description

SPECIFIC AIMS A significant percentage of patients with primary FSGS are resistant to corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive medications. In view of the rising incidence of this disease and the grim prognosis for patients with resistant disease, it is imperative that new therapeutic approaches be evaluated in an efficient and systematic manner. This will enable accurate assessment of the risk-benefit ratio of novel therapies and guide the design of future Phase III randomized clinical trials.

Specific Aim #1: To evaluate two novel therapies for resistant FSGS -- anti-TNF-α antibody and galactose -- against standard therapy

Specific Aim #2: To identify one or more novel agents as candidates for future study in a Phase III randomized clinical trial

OVERALL STUDY DESIGN Screening/Run-In: There is no formal run-in period in the phase II trial because patients with resistant FSGS who will be eligible for this study often have unstable kidney function and are prone to sudden decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). An effort will be made to achieve randomization within 2 weeks of the screening visit.

In order to achieve a comparable baseline assessment prior to initiation of one of the novel therapies, the patients must be off all immunosuppressive medications for 30 days. In addition, patients will be placed on the maximal tolerated doses of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), and a lipid-lowering drug defined above based upon measurements of blood pressure, serum K+, creatinine, and cholesterol concentrations. Patients will have to be on stable doses of the ACEI/ARB treatment for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to randomization into the FONT Phase II study to insure that the initiation of novel therapy does not coincide with a hemodynamically induced change in proteinuria. In order to implement this part of conservative medical therapy, a 2-12 week Screening/Run-In period will precede randomization. Rescreening will be necessary if patients are not randomized to one of the three treatment arms within 12 weeks of the initial screening assessment.

Duration of novel therapy: Novel therapies will be administered for 6 months before assessing efficacy, i.e., >50% reduction in proteinuria. Although the novel therapies target renal fibrosis, it is anticipated that this period of treatment will be sufficient to document a beneficial effect on proteinuria.

Screening/Run-In: There is no formal run-in period in the phase II trial because patients with resistant FSGS who will be eligible for this study often have unstable kidney function and are prone to sudden decline in GFR. An effort will be made to achieve randomization within 2 weeks of the screening visit.

Frequency of visits: Patients will be evaluated after 0, 2, 8, 16, and 26 weeks of treatment with the novel therapy or conservative medical therapy alone. Thus, there will be a total of 6 visits during the treatment period. A follow-up evaluation will be performed at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after discontinuation of the novel therapy, and then every 6 months until the end of the funding period.

Baseline studies

1. Interval History and physical examination
2. Urine protein and creatinine excretion Proteinuria (Up/c) will be expressed as the protein: creatinine ratio (mg: mg) in an early morning specimen.
3. Serum creatinine and calculated GFR, glucose, albumin, pregnancy test
4. A urine, plasma, serum and DNA sample will be collected for storage in the NIDDK FSGS-CT Biorepository. A request will be made to store any residual renal tissue collected for clinical indications during the FONT trial in the NIDDK Biorepository.

Follow-up assessment: Week 2, 8, and 16 Visits

1. Interval history, physical examination, assessment of adverse events
2. First morning urine protein excretion
3. Laboratory analysis as charted below. Urine pregnancy test at 8 and 16 week visit

Final Outcome Visit (Week 26)

1. History and physical examination
2. Morning urine protein and creatinine excretion x 2 (The value will represent the average of two samples collected during the week before the visit.)
3. Serum creatinine and calculated GFR, Serum Na+, K+, HCO3, Cl-, glucose, CPK
4. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), albumin, cholesterol, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, complete blood count (CBC), antinuclear antibodies (ANA), C3 levels, pregnancy test
5. Urine, serum and plasma for biorepository
6. TSQM patient questionnaire

Preliminary safety, patient tolerance, and pharmacokinetic (PK) data for the two novel therapies, rosiglitazone and adalimumab, that will be used in the Phase II trial were generated through the successful performance of a Phase I study.

In the phase I study, a total of 21 patients were enrolled. 11 were assigned to receive rosiglitazone, and 10 were assigned to receive adalimumab. The patients were evenly divided by gender and pubertal stage. All patients had a GFR >50 mL/min/1.73 m2.

There were no serious adverse events necessitating the withdrawal of study drug.

Rosiglitazone was stopped in one child due to a questionable allergy. The patients tolerated the experimental medications adequately based on the results of the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) which was administered at week 16.

The PK analyses indicated that the rosiglitazone dose needs to be increased to account for increased clearance and reduced area under the curve in patients with resistant FSGS and nephrotic range proteinuria. For adalumimab, clearance was also enhanced especially after receiving multiple doses. However, these results of the adalimumab PK analyses indicate that no dose adjustment was required.

The PK data for each drug were presented in abstract form at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology and a manuscript summarizing the complete findings in patients treated with rosiglitazone has been submitted for publication.

This Phase II will again rely on the considerable investment of time and resources on the part of the study investigators and the NIH/NIDDK gained through the FSGS-CT (UO1-DK-63455) and the Phase I portion of the FONT study (DK70341). Schneider Children's Hospital (SCH) and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) resources including the GCRCs that were utilized in the R21phase of them study will be available for the R33 portion of the FONT project.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 32
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Alberta
    • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2R7
      • University of Alberta
• United States
  • Florida
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33136
      • University of Miami
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
      • Emory University
  • Kansas
    • Kansas City, Kansas, United States, 66160
      • University of Kansas
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Boston Children's Hospital
  • Michigan
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
      • University of Michigan
  • Minnesota
    • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55901
      • Mayo Clinic
  • Missouri
    • Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64108
      • Children's Mercy Hospital
    • Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63104
      • Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center
  • New York
    • New Hyde Park, New York, United States, 11040
      • Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Medical Center
    • New York, New York, United States, 10016
      • NYU Langone Medical Center
  • North Carolina
    • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28207
      • Carolinas Medical Center
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45229
      • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43205
      • Ohio State University
  • Oregon
    • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
      • Doernbecher Children's Hospital
  • South Carolina
    • Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29425
      • Medical University of South Carolina
  • Texas
    • El Paso, Texas, United States, 79905
      • Texas Tech University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT, CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Primary FSGS confirmed by renal biopsy OR documentation of a genetic mutation in a podocyte protein associated with the disease
• Failure to respond to prior therapy at least one of the following immunosuppressive medications -- cyclosporine, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, sirolimus - or other agents prescribed to lower proteinuria
• Age 1-65 years at onset of proteinuria
• Age 1-65 years at time of randomization
• Estimated GFR ≥40 mL/min/1.73 m2 using Schwartz (age <18 yr) or Cockroft-Gault (age <18 yr) formula at screening and ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2 at the end of the Run-In Period and at the time of randomization
• Up/c > 1.0 g/g creatinine on first morning void
• Steroid resistance defined as failure to achieve sustained Up/c < 1.0 following a standard course of prednisone/prednisolone/methylprednisolone prescribed for FSGS therapy, OR contraindication/anticipated intolerance to steroid therapy defined as severe obesity, documented decreased bone density, family history of diabetes, or a psychiatric disorder.
• Willingness to follow the protocol, including medications, baseline and follow-up visits, and procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lactation, pregnancy, or refusal of birth control in women of child bearing potential
• Participation in another therapeutic trial involving protocol mandated administration of a immunosuppressive medication concurrently or 30 days prior to randomization
• Active/serious infection (including, but not limited to Hepatitis B or C, HIV)
• History of malignancy
• Abnormality in age appropriate cancer screening in accord with ACS 2003 guidelines (appendix 17.6)
• Patients with uncontrolled blood pressure > 140/90 or > 95th percentile for age/height at the end of the run in period
• Diabetes mellitus Type I or II
• Organ transplantation
• Congestive heart failure
• History of prior myocardial infarction
• SLE or multiple sclerosis
• Hepatic disease, defined as serum ALT/AST levels more than 2.5x the upper limit of normal
• Hematocrit <27%
• Immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporine, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, or rapamycin in the 30 days prior or Rituximab in the 90 days prior to randomization
• Prior treatment with the study medications, rosiglitazone or adalimumab
• Allergy to one of the study medications, i.e., rosiglitazone, adalimumab, lisinopril, losartan or atorvastatin

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: 2; Conservative medical therapy plus adalimumab	Drug: Adalimumab; Adalimumab 24 mg/m^2 (maximum dose 40 mg) sc q 14 days
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: 1; Conservative medical therapy (lisinopril, losartan, atorvastatin)	Drug: Lisinopril, losartan, and atorvastatin; Lisinopril PO 10-20 mg per day Losartan PO 25-50 mg per day Atorvastatin PO 10-20 mg per day
EXPERIMENTAL: conservative medical therapy plus galactose; drug: galactose 0.2 g /kg/dose (maximum dose 15g) po BID	Drug: galactose; galactose 0.2 g/kg/dose (maximum dose 15 g)po BID

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With a Reduction in Proteinuria at 6 Months by > 50% of the Value at Screening AND Stable GFR Defined as Greater Than 75 ml/Min/1.73m2 in Those With an Initial Value Above 90 OR Within 25% of Baseline for Remaining Patients	Number of participants with a reduction in proteinuria at 6 months by > 50% of the value at screening AND stable GFR defined as greater than 75 ml/min/1.73m2 in those with an initial value above 90 OR within 25% of baseline for remaining patients.	baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With Adverse Events		Up to 7 months
Patient Satisfaction Score Using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM Questionnaire)	Patient Satisfaction Score Using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM Questionnaire)	Baseline and 6 months
Percent Change in Proteinuria		Baseline and 6 months
Percent Change in or Time to Doubling of Serum Creatinine		Baseline and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health
• Collaborators: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK); University of Michigan; The Cleveland Clinic
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Howard Trachtman, MD, NYU Langone Medical Center; Principal Investigator: Jennifer Gassman, PhD, The Cleveland Clinic

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Hodson EM, Sinha A, Cooper TE. Interventions for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Feb 28;2(2):CD003233. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003233.pub3.
• Joy MS, Gipson DS, Dike M, Powell L, Thompson A, Vento S, Eddy A, Fogo AB, Kopp JB, Cattran D, Trachtman H. Phase I trial of rosiglitazone in FSGS: I. Report of the FONT Study Group. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 Jan;4(1):39-47. doi: 10.2215/CJN.02310508. Epub 2008 Dec 10.
• Trachtman H, Vento S, Herreshoff E, Radeva M, Gassman J, Stein DT, Savin VJ, Sharma M, Reiser J, Wei C, Somers M, Srivastava T, Gipson DS. Efficacy of galactose and adalimumab in patients with resistant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: report of the font clinical trial group. BMC Nephrol. 2015 Jul 22;16:111. doi: 10.1186/s12882-015-0094-5.
• Trachtman H, Vento S, Gipson D, Wickman L, Gassman J, Joy M, Savin V, Somers M, Pinsk M, Greene T. Novel therapies for resistant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FONT) phase II clinical trial: study design. BMC Nephrol. 2011 Feb 10;12:8. doi: 10.1186/1471-2369-12-8.
• Joy MS, Gipson DS, Powell L, MacHardy J, Jennette JC, Vento S, Pan C, Savin V, Eddy A, Fogo AB, Kopp JB, Cattran D, Trachtman H. Phase 1 trial of adalimumab in Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS): II. Report of the FONT (Novel Therapies for Resistant FSGS) study group. Am J Kidney Dis. 2010 Jan;55(1):50-60. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2009.08.019. Epub 2009 Nov 22.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2013
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): February 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 22, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 23, 2008
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): December 24, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): July 11, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 1, 2016
• Last Verified: July 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Rosiglitazone; Adalimumab; Primary FSGS; Steroid Resistant; Resistant primary FSGS; GALACTOSE
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Nephritis; Glomerulonephritis; Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Antihypertensive Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antirheumatic Agents; Antimetabolites; Protease Inhibitors; Protective Agents; Cardiotonic Agents; Anticholesteremic Agents; Hypolipidemic Agents; Lipid Regulating Agents; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Atorvastatin; Adalimumab; Losartan; Lisinopril
• Other Study ID Numbers: DK70341FII; R33DK070341 (NIH)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: will comply with NIDDK guidelines