Efficacy and Safety Study of Nexagon for Persistent Corneal Epithelial Defects (NTX-PED-001)

Phase 2, Randomized, Double-masked, Vehicle-controlled, Dose-escalation Study Evaluating Efficacy/Safety of Nexagon in Subjects With Persistent Corneal Epithelial Defects (PED) Resulting From Corneal Epithelial Debridement During Diabetic Vitrectomy Surgery, Herpes Simples Virus (HSV) Keratitis, Herpes Zoster Virus (HZV) Keratitis, Corneal Burns, Post-photorefractive Keratectomy (Post-PRK), or Post-corneal Transplant Surgery.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Nexagon® in subjects with persistent corneal epithelial defects (PED) resulting from corneal epithelial debridement during diabetic vitrectomy surgery, HSV keratitis, HZV keratitis, corneal burns, post-PRK, or post-corneal transplant surgery.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Persistent Corneal Epithelial Defects
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Nexagon; Drug: Vehicle only

Detailed Description

The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, dose-escalation study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Nexagon® in subjects with persistent corneal epithelial defects (PED) resulting from corneal epithelial debridement during diabetic vitrectomy surgery, HSV keratitis, HZV keratitis, corneal burns, post-PRK, or post-corneal transplant surgery. In general, traditional therapy of PED consists of aggressive lubrication with preservative-free artificial tears and ointments, the use of bandage soft contact lenses, pressure patching, punctal plugging, and the surgical closure of the eyelids. Unfortunately, the success rates with these conventional treatment modalities are varied, and overall, disappointingly low. As such, much research is currently being directed at finding better treatments for PED. Nexagon® is a novel therapeutic agent that has been shown to be effective in treating skin lesions, and it has been shown in animal studies and in preliminary human studies to be safe and efficacious in treating PED.

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male and female subjects aged 18 years and over.
• Female subjects must be a) postmenopausal, b) surgically sterilized, c) practicing abstinence, or d) using a hormonal contraceptive, intrauterine device, diaphragm with spermicide, or condom with spermicide for the duration of the study.
• Subjects who are able to attend all follow-up visits and who are able to comply with all study procedures.
• Subjects who are willing and able to give written informed consent to take part in the study.
• Subjects with a PED, defined as follows: "a corneal epithelial defect persisting for at least 14 days and not longer than 28 days."
• In the Investigator's opinion, the defect is persistent i.e., the defect has not shown improvement despite conventional treatment such as tear supplements and bandage contact lenses.
• The original defect to the cornea must have resulted from corneal epithelial debridement during diabetic vitrectomy surgery, HSV keratitis, HZV keratitis, corneal burns, post-PRK, or post-corneal transplant surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Use of concomitant ocular medications in the screening period that are not specified in standardized PED treatment regimen
• Likely to require the use of concomitant ocular medications that are not specified in the standardized PED treatment regime during the study follow-up period
• Decrease or increase in the PED by more than 50% during the screening period.
• Have an active eyelid or ocular infectious process of any sort, in the opinion of the Investigator.
• Subjects with corneal perforation or impending corneal perforation.
• Subjects with severe eyelid abnormalities contributory to the persistence of the PED.
• Subjects with bilateral PED, if the smaller PED has a longest diameter of > 2 mm. (Note: if bilateral PED is present and the smaller PED is < 2 mm, the subject is eligible. In this situation only the eye with the larger PED should be entered into the study).
• Female subjects who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Female subjects who are neither postmenopausal nor surgically sterile require a negative urine pregnancy test on Day 0 (plus or minus 1 day) visit.
• Subjects who have a history of AIDS or HIV.
• Subjects with any other condition which, in the Investigator's opinion, would exclude the subject from participating.
• Treatment with systemic corticosteroids (equivalent to > 10 mg/day of prednisone) or immunosuppressive or chemotherapeutic agents within 7 days prior to Day 0 (plus or minus 1 day) visit, or likely to receive one of these therapies during study participation
• Subjects who have participated in a clinical trial within 30 days prior to Day 0 (plus or minus 1 day) visit.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: TRIPLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Nexagon; There will be 3 groups of patients with persistent epithelial defects, treated in a dose-escalation fashion from 1µg to 3µg to 10 µg. Each group will consist of 18 patients randomized to Nexagon and 6 patients randomized to placebo only.	Drug: Nexagon; There will be 3 groups of patients with persistent epithelial defects, treated in a dose-escalation fashion from 1µg to 3µg to 10 µg. Each group will consist of 18 patients randomized to Nexagon and 6 patients randomized to placebo only.; Other Names: Active Ingredient: CODA001; IND: 104593; Vehicle: Poloxamer 407
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Vehicle only; There will be 3 groups of patients with persistent epithelial defects, treated in a dose-escalation fashion from 1µg to 3µg to 10 µg. Each group will consist of 18 patients randomized to Nexagon and 6 patients randomized to placebo only.	Drug: Vehicle only; There will be 3 groups of patients with persistent epithelial defects, treated in a dose-escalation fashion from 1µg to 3µg to 10 µg. Each group will consist of 18 patients randomized to Nexagon and 6 patients randomized to placebo only.; Other Names: Poloxamer 407

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percent Healing of the Corneal Epithelial Defect at Day 14 ± 1 in the Study Eye	Primary efficacy measure: To determine whether topical treatment of persistent epithelial defects with Nexagon preparations yields greater healing at Day 14 ± 1, compared to vehicle alone, in individuals having had diabetic vitrectomy. Healing will be determined by comparing pseudo-area (as measured by Investigator, or designated ophthalmologist) at baseline (taken just prior to the first treatment) and Day 14 ± 1. Pseudo-area is defined by the longest diameter of the lesion multiplied by the longest perpendicular to this longest diameter.	14 ± 1 days
Incidence of Adverse Events Following Application of the Investigational Product in All Subjects	Primary safety measure: To determine incidence of adverse events by recording their occurrence at each study visit through Day 28 ± 2. Analysis of safety data will be performed prior to each dose-escalation. If greater than 2 serious adverse events are found that are causally related to the investigational product, the study will be halted.	28 ± 2 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to Complete Re-epithelialization of the Study Eye	Resolution of epithelial defect is defined as the largest diameter of the epithelial defect being less than 0.5 mm, as it is difficult to distinguish a smaller defect from the small amount of fluorescing staining seen in a healed defect. Time of complete re-epithelialization will be defined as the midpoint between the last observed date with an epithelial defect and the date of the first visit with no epithelial defect, up to Day 28 ± 2.	28 ± 2 days
Complete Healing of the Corneal Epithelial Defect at Day 14 ± 1 in the Study Eye	To determine binary indicator of whether or not healing has occurred at 14 ± 1 days, defined as the largest diameter of the epithelial defect being smaller than 0.5 mm as determined by slit lamp examination with fluorescein staining.	14 ± 1 days
Change in the Rate of Re-epithelialization of the Study Eye	To determine the change in the rate of re-epithelialization of the study eye from the screening run-in period to the treatment period, if applicable. Time Frame: Screening period is defined as Day -7 to Day 0 ± 1. Treatment period is defined as Day 0 ± 1 through time of complete re-epithelialization. Time of complete re-epithelialization is defined as the midpoint between the last observed date with an epithelial defect and the date of the first visit with no epithelial defect, up to Day 28 ± 2.	35 ± 2 days
Persistence of Complete Corneal Re-epithelialization in the Study Eye	To determine whether or not complete corneal re-epithelialization was persistent, as determined by whether the healed epithelium remains intact after complete re-epithelialization is confirmed in the study eye. The measurement will be made at Day 28 ± 2.	28 ± 2 days
Percent Reduction of Corneal Epithelial Defect at Day 28 ± 2 in the Study Eye	To compare, in each of the two patient populations, the percent reduction in epithelial defect size at Day 28 ± 2 compared to baseline, as measured by slit lamp examination with fluorescein staining. Epithelial defect size determined by pseudo-area, defined by the longest diameter of the lesion multiplied by the longest perpendicular to this longest diameter.	28 ± 2 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Collaborators: FDA Office of Orphan Products Development
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Bennie H Jeng, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Qiu C, Coutinho P, Frank S, Franke S, Law LY, Martin P, Green CR, Becker DL. Targeting connexin43 expression accelerates the rate of wound repair. Curr Biol. 2003 Sep 30;13(19):1697-703. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2003.09.007.
• Lin JH, Weigel H, Cotrina ML, Liu S, Bueno E, Hansen AJ, Hansen TW, Goldman S, Nedergaard M. Gap-junction-mediated propagation and amplification of cell injury. Nat Neurosci. 1998 Oct;1(6):494-500. doi: 10.1038/2210. Erratum In: Nat Neurosci 1998 Dec;1(8):743.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): February 1, 2014
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): February 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2010
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): July 19, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): May 7, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 20, 2015
• Last Verified: April 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cornea; persistent epithelial defect
• Other Study ID Numbers: Nex001; 1R01FD003708-01A1 (FDA)