Therapeutic Vaccination and Immune Modulation - New Treatment Strategies for the MDR Tuberculosis Pandemic (TBCOX2)

Therapeutic Vaccination and Immune Modulation - New Treatment Strategies for the Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Pandemic; an Open Label Phase I Clinical Trial of the Therapeutic TB H56:IC31 Vaccine and Cyclooxygenase-inhibitors

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global challenge and for the increasing epidemic of multi-drug resistant (MDR)-TB there is restricted treatment options. This calls for research of new immune-modulating treatment strategies that can strengthen the patients immune system to better fight the TB bacteria. The pro-inflammatory, but still immunosuppressive mediator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is produced by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in inflamed infected tissue. Studies from both human and animal models show that COX-2 inhibitors (COX-2i) can improve the immune system and strengthen vaccines responses.

Hypothesis

1. A hyperactive COX-2/PGE2 signal system in active TB causes down-regulated immune responses that favour TB survival, but this can be abrogated by COX-2i.
2. TB-specific immunisation with targeted antigens presented as a therapeutic TB vaccine and enhanced by COX-2i will improve immune-mediated host clearance of TB.
3. Combinations of COX-2i and a therapeutic TB vaccine to conventional anti-TB chemotherapy offer new treatment modalities for TB, including MDR/XDR-TB.

Approach to test the hypothesis

1. Study design: 4-arm, open and randomized clinical intervention trial of patients starting treatment for active TB in specialized Norwegian TB centres and where two arms will receive the COX-2i etoricoxib with and without a TB vaccine, one arm vaccine only and the last arm serve as control receiving only standard anti-TB therapy. For safety precautions, only patients bearing sensitive TB strains are included and study arms will be sequentially introduced.
2. In a mouse model examine in more detail the effects of reversion of chronic inflammation with COX-2i locally in tissue and the interplay with TB vaccine responses, immune regulation, correlates of protection and survival in a well-characterized model for TB-exposed mice.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tuberculosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: etoricoxib; Biological: H56:IC31

Detailed Description

The hypothesis is that treating TB patients with a therapeutic TB vaccine and COX-2 inhibiting drugs in addition to standard antibiotic TB therapy will improve the patients immune system and boost TB vaccine responses.

The project will provide safety and immunogenicity data from a Norwegian phase 1 clinical trial of the therapeutic TB vaccine candidate H56:IC31 and the COX-2i etoricoxib given to TB patients together with standard TB antibiotics.

The investigators will also perform exploratory in-depth studies of immune regulatory mechanisms and try to identify biomarkers for efficacy of treatment both in humans and in a parallel mouse model. These results may further optimize the therapeutic strategy and prepare for larger clinical trials and finally contribute to new treatment options for MDR-TB.

Objectives:

• Study the safety and tolerability of etoricoxib given for 20 weeks (day 0-140) alone and in combination with the therapeutic TB vaccine H56:IC31 given as two immunizations at day 84 and day 140 in patients with active TB disease treated with conventional 26-week anti-TB chemotherapy.
• Study the immune effects of etoricoxib given for 20 weeks (day 0-140) on immune regulation and TB vaccine (H56:IC31) immunogenicity in patients with active TB disease treated with conventional 26-week anti-TB chemotherapy.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 39
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Norway
  • Bergen, Norway, 5020
    • Haukeland University Hospital
  • Oslo, Norway, 0424
    • Oslo University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age between 18 to 70 years at the time of randomization.
2. Microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB (culture and/or PCR + susceptibility testing) and/or microbiologically confirmed extra-pulmonary TB (culture and/or PCR + susceptibility testing).
3. Drug sensitive Mtb strains (except single resistance where fully adequate anti-TB chemotherapy regimen could be provided).
4. Is willing and likely to comply with the trial procedures and is prepared to grant authorized persons access to their medical record.
5. Has completed the written informed consent process prior to the start of screening evaluations.
6. Females: Ability to avoid pregnancy during the trial.

Subjects may receive H56:IC31 vaccination (arm#2 and #4) if they meet the following criteria:

1. Sputum obtained prior to 1th immunization (day 84) must be Mtb negative evaluated by at least two consecutive AFS or GeneXpert/PCR at least 7 days apart.
2. Documented reduction in the extent of TB disease at the infectious site(s) within day 84 evaluated by physical and/or radiological examination.
3. Clinical improvement with normal vital signs (blood pressure, temperature and pulse), improvement of any TB related symptoms to Grade 1-3, stable or increased body-weight and reduced inflammatory blood parameters (CRP, ESR and WBC counts) compared to baseline.

Exclusion Criteria:

Main exclusion criteria:

(i) Study-specific: Disseminated TB. Evidence of a new acute illness that may compromise the safety of the subject in the trial on study day 0. History of autoimmune disease or immunosuppression. History or laboratory evidence of any possible immunodeficiency state. Anemia (<9 g/100 ml). HIV sero-positivity. Chronic hepatitis B (HBs antigen positive) with increased liver transaminases (ASAT, ALAT) or chronic hepatitis C (HCV RNA positive). Concomitant or sporadic use of NSAID or corticosteroids (>2 times per week). Other immune modulating therapies including DMARDS. Total cholesterol > 7 mmol/L. Hypertension >140/90 mm Hg (treated or untreated) or treated with >1 antihypertensive drug at any blood pressure. Cardiovascular events or stroke in parents, siblings or off-springs occurring < 55 years of age. Serum creatinine above reference levels (females > 90 µmol/L; males > 105 µmol/L). Known diabetes mellitus type I or diabetes mellitus type II with HbA1c >7%. Pregnancy (S-hCG >5 IU/l for females at childbearing age). Breastfeeding.

2. Exclusion criteria for etoricoxib according to SPC: Known hypersensitivity for etoricoxib or etoricoxib tablet substances. Known hypersensitivity for sulphonamides. Active peptic ulcer or gastrointestinal haemorrhage. History of asthma, acute rhinitis, nasal polyps, angioneurotic oedema, urticaria or other allergic reactions after taking acetyl salicylic acid or NSAID including COX-2 inhibitors. Moderate/severe deranged liver function (Child-Pugh >7). Serum-creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min. Inflammatory bowel disease. Heart failure (NYHA II-IV). Established ischaemic heart disease, peripheral arteriosclerosis and/or cerebrovascular disease, including previous myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, unstable angina, PCI or coronary bypass, previous transitory ischemic attack or apoplexia/stroke.

3. Exclusion criteria for H56:IC31: Known hypersensitivity for vaccines or vaccine adjuvants.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm#1; arm#1 (n=10) receiving etoricoxib from inclusion day 0 and in 140 days. Step-wise inclusion starting with arm#1,arm#2 and arm#3 (first group) randomized (2:2:1) and if safety data are satisfactory proceeding with arm #4 and the rest of arm#3 randomized (2:2:1).	Drug: etoricoxib; cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor. Anti-inflammatory; Other Names: Arcoxia®
Experimental: Arm#2; arm#2 (n=10) receiving H56:IC31 vaccine at day 84 and 140 and no etoricoxib.	Biological: H56:IC31; Therapeutic and prophylactic TB vaccine
No Intervention: Arm#3; arm#3 (n=10), the first group (n=5) serving as control to arm#1 and arm#2, the next group (n=5) serving as control to arm#4.
Experimental: Arm#4; arm#4 (n=10) receiving etoricoxib from inclusion day 0 and in 140 days and H56:IC31 vaccine at day 84 and 140.	Drug: etoricoxib; cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor. Anti-inflammatory; Other Names: Arcoxia®; Biological: H56:IC31; Therapeutic and prophylactic TB vaccine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Safety of etoricoxib (arm#1) assessed by the number of participants with adverse events	Number and % of study patients with AE or SAE	From day 0 until day 238 (14 weeks after the last dose of etoricoxib)
Safety of H56:IC31 vaccine (arm#2) assessed by the number of participants with adverse events	Number and % of study patients with AE or SAE	From day 0 until day 238. For vaccine related adverse events; immunisation (day 84 and day 140) and 14 days post-immunisation (day 98 and day 154).
Safety of combined etoricoxib and H56:IC31 vaccine (arm#4) assessed by the number of participants with adverse events	Number and % of study patients with AE or SAE	From day 0 until day 238 (14 weeks after the last dose of etoricoxib). For vaccine related adverse events; from immunisation (day 84 and day 140) and 14 days post-immunisation (day 98 and day 154).
Immunogenicity of etoricoxib (arm#1)	Total CD4+ T cell cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α) responses to sum TB peptides.	Day 0 (baseline) to day 84
Immunogenicity of H56:IC31 vaccine (arm#2)	Total CD4+ T cell cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α) responses to sum TB peptides.	From before first immunisation (day 84) to 14 days after second immunisation (day 154).
Immunogenicity of combined etoricoxib and H56:IC31 vaccine (arm#4)	Total CD4+ T cell cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α) responses to sum TB peptides.	From before first immunisation (day 84) to 14 days after second immunisation (day 154).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Exploratory immune studies	Study in depth the effect of etoricoxib on immune activation, regulation and TB vaccine immunogenicity measured by the percentage of innate cells (monocytes/MDSC) and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing various activation, supression and regulation markers in response to stimulation with TB antigenic peptide pools (Ag85B, ESAT-6, Rv2660c). Serologi to H56 and gene signature analyses.	From day 0 (baseline) until day 238 (study end); 14, 28, 56, 84, 98, 140, 154, 182, 210, 238 days from baseline (selected timepoints for various analysis).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Anne Margarita Dyrhol Riise
• Collaborators: University of Oslo; Haukeland University Hospital; Statens Serum Institut
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anne Margarita Dyrhol-Riise, PhD, Oslo University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Jenum S, Tonby K, Rueegg CS, Ruhwald M, Kristiansen MP, Bang P, Olsen IC, Sellaeg K, Rostad K, Mustafa T, Tasken K, Kvale D, Mortensen R, Dyrhol-Riise AM. A Phase I/II randomized trial of H56:IC31 vaccination and adjunctive cyclooxygenase-2-inhibitor treatment in tuberculosis patients. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 22;12(1):6774. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27029-6.
• Tonby K, Mortensen R, Ruhwald M, Dyrhol-Riise AM, Jenum S. KLRG1-Expressing CD4 T Cells Are Reduced in Tuberculosis Patients Compared to Healthy Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Infected Subjects, but Increase With Treatment. J Infect Dis. 2019 Jun 5;220(1):174-176. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz056. No abstract available.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): March 23, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 10, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 20, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): July 21, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 8, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Vaccine; Host-modulating therapy; Cyclooxygenase inhibitors
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections and Mycoses; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Actinomycetales Infections; Mycobacterium Infections; Tuberculosis; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Analgesics; Sensory System Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antirheumatic Agents; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; Etoricoxib
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2015/692; 2014-004986-26 (EudraCT Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Yes
• IPD Plan Description: The study is published. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27029-6
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data available as supplementary information in the published manuscript.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: The full source datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the repository of the open science framework (https://osf.io/khvf4)
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: Study Protocol; Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP); Analytic Code

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No