Efficacy and Safety of Etonogestrel + 17β-Estradiol Vaginal Ring (MK-8342B) in the Treatment of Women With Primary Dysmenorrhea (MK-8342B-060)

A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Study the Efficacy and Safety of MK-8342B (ENG-E2 Vaginal Ring) in Women With Moderate to Severe Primary Dysmenorrhea

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the etonogestrel (ENG) + 17β-estradiol (E2) (MK-8342B) vaginal ring compared to placebo vaginal ring in the treatment of dysmenorrhea at Treatment Cycle 2. This study was also to assess the safety and tolerability of the ENG-E2 vaginal rings over 4 treatment cycles. Primary hypothesis: Relative to the placebo ring, the ENG-E2 vaginal ring results in a greater proportion of participants with a ≥3-point reduction in peak pelvic pain score and no increase in the number of rescue pain relief (ibuprofen) tablets taken at Treatment Cycle 2 as compared to baseline.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Dysmenorrhea
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: ENG 125 μg + E2 300 μg vaginal ring (MK-8342B); Drug: Ibuprofen; Drug: Placebo vaginal ring

Detailed Description

The cramping window for each participant was to be defined as a 4-day time interval that began the day prior to initiation of each cyclic bleeding episode (spontaneous menses or hormone withdrawal bleeding) and continued until the third bleeding day (inclusive). An external committee of blinded independent reviewers was to determine the 4-day cramping window for each participant so that analysis of the efficacy data could be conducted. The study was terminated early due to a business decision by the Sponsor to discontinue product development for reasons unrelated to safety or efficacy outcomes. Due to the early study termination, the blinded independent review committee that was supposed to determine the 4-day cramping windows for data analysis was not assembled; thus cramping windows were not determined. Without defined cramping windows, the efficacy outcome measures for this study could not be analyzed.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 18
• Phase: Phase 3

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: No older than 50 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Post-menarcheal female, age ≤50 years, in good physical and mental health.
• History of moderate to severe primary dysmenorrhea for the past 3 months or longer, and no history of recurrent non-menstrual pelvic pain intermittently or continuously throughout the month, and no history of dysmenorrhea secondary to structural pelvic pathology.
• Body mass index (BMI) of ≥18 and <38 kg/m^2.
• History of regular menstrual cycles with a cycle length between 24 and 32 days (inclusive) for the past three months.
• Willing to adhere to use of the vaginal ring and to all required trial procedures, and not planning to relocate during the study.
• Willing to use the rescue medication ibuprofen at the study recommended dose and no other pain medication for treatment of dysmenorrhea.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cardiovascular risks and disorders, including history of venous thromboembolic [VTE] events, arterial thrombotic or thromboembolic [ATE] events, transient ischemic attack, angina pectoris, or claudication; at higher risk of VTE events due to recent prolonged immobilization, plans for surgery requiring prolonged immobilization, or a hereditary or acquired predisposition or elevated risk for venous or arterial thrombosis; currently smoking or uses tobacco/nicotine containing products and is ≥35 years of age; uncontrolled or severe hypertension; history of severe dyslipoproteinemia; <35 years of age with a history of migraine with aura or focal neurological symptoms or ≥35 years of age with a history of migraines with or without aura or focal neurologic symptoms; diabetes mellitus with end-organ involvement or >20 years duration; multiple cardiovascular risk factors such as ≥35 years of age, obesity, inadequately controlled hypertension, use of tobacco/ nicotine products, or inadequately controlled diabetes.
• Gynecologic conditions: surgically sterilized, has used hormonal contraceptives (pill, patch, ring, implant, intrauterine system) within the past 3 months, or currently uses non-hormonal intrauterine device (IUD); within past 6 months has had undiagnosed (unexplained) abnormal vaginal bleeding or any abnormal vaginal bleeding expected to recur during study; has gonorrhea, chlamydia, or trichomonas or symptomatic vaginitis/cervicitis; has abnormal cervical smear or positive high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) test at screening or documented within 3 years of screening; has Stage 4 pelvic organ prolapse (1 cm beyond introitus) or lesser degrees of prolapse with history of difficulty retaining tampons, vaginal rings, or other products within vagina.
• Gastrointestinal and urologic disorders, including history of pancreatitis associated with severe hypertriglyceridemia; clinically significant liver disease, including active viral hepatitis or cirrhosis; or a history of the gastrointestinal or urologic tract which may cause pelvic pain.
• Other medical disorders, including history of malignancy ≤5 years prior to signing informed consent except for adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or in situ cervical cancer; any disease that may worsen under hormonal treatment such as disturbances in bile flow, systemic lupus erythematosus, pemphigoid gestationis or idiopathic icterus during previous pregnancy, middle-ear deafness, Sydenham chorea, or porphyria; known allergy/sensitivity or contraindication to the investigational products or their excipients; known allergy/sensitivity or contraindication to ibuprofen, or has experienced asthma, urticaria, or allergic-type reactions after taking aspirin, or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; history of drug or alcohol abuse or dependence.
• Known or suspected pregnancy, or had been pregnant or breastfeeding within past 2 months.
• Has used investigational drug and/or participated in other clinical trial within past 8 weeks.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ENG 125 μg + E2 300 μg (MK-8342B); Participants received up to 4 cycles of etonogestrel-17β estradiol (ENG-E2) at a daily dose of 125 μg/300 μg via vaginal ring. Each cycle consisted of 21 days of MK-8342B vaginal ring use followed by 7 ring-free days.	Drug: ENG 125 μg + E2 300 μg vaginal ring (MK-8342B); Medicated vaginal ring; Other Names: MK-8342B; Drug: Ibuprofen; Ibuprofen 400-mg tablets, to be taken orally, were provided to the participants for use as rescue medication for dysmenorrhea treatment throughout the study. Participants may have taken 400 mg every 4 hours as needed for pelvic pain/cramping.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Participants received up to 4 cycles of placebo via vaginal ring. Each cycle consisted of 21 days of placebo vaginal ring use followed by 7 ring-free days.	Drug: Ibuprofen; Ibuprofen 400-mg tablets, to be taken orally, were provided to the participants for use as rescue medication for dysmenorrhea treatment throughout the study. Participants may have taken 400 mg every 4 hours as needed for pelvic pain/cramping.; Drug: Placebo vaginal ring; Placebo vaginal ring

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants With ≥3 Point Reduction in Peak Pelvic Pain Score and no Increase in Number of Ibuprofen Tablets Taken at Treatment Cycle 2, Compared to Baseline	Participants were asked to rate their worst pain or cramps in the past 24 hours on a scale of 0 to 10 (0=No pain or cramps to 10=Extreme pain or cramps) and to indicate the number of ibuprofen tablets they took during the 4-day cramping window. The peak pelvic pain score was to be calculated as the highest (daily) pelvic pain score observed within the cramping window of the cycle and the total number of ibuprofen tablets taken was to be based on the 4-day cramping window. The baseline peak pelvic pain score and number of ibuprofen tablets taken were to be defined as the mean value of the 2 peak pelvic pain scores and the mean value of the total number of ibuprofen tablets taken during the cramping window of each of the 2 menstruations during the screening period, respectively. The percentage of participants with a reduction in peak pelvic pain score of ≥3 points and no increase in the use of ibuprofen at Treatment Cycle 2 as compared to baseline was to be presented.	Baseline 4-day cramping window and Treatment Cycle 2 4-day cramping window, as determined by committee for each participant
Number of Participants Who Experienced an Adverse Event (AE)	An AE was defined as any unfavorable and unintended change in the structure, function, or chemistry of the body temporally associated with the use of the study treatment, whether or not considered related to the use of study treatment. The number of participants who experienced an AE is presented.	Up to approximately 126 days
Number of Participants Who Discontinued Study Treatment Due to an AE	An AE was defined as any unfavorable and unintended change in the structure, function, or chemistry of the body temporally associated with the use of the study treatment, whether or not considered related to the use of study treatment. The number of participants who discontinued study treatment due an AE is presented.	Up to approximately 112 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline in the Number of Days With no Impact on Items of Physical, Work/School and Social/Leisure Activities at Treatment Cycle 2	Participants were asked to indicate how much pain or cramps limited their physical, work/school and social/leisure activities and over the previous 24 hours. The level of negative impact of dysmenorrhea on daily life was scored on a 5-point scale (0=Not at all to 4=Extremely impacted). For each of the 3 impact items, the baseline score was to be defined as the mean value obtained from the 2 menstruations during the screening period. The change from baseline to Treatment Cycle 2 in the number of days during the cramping window with no impact of dysmenorrhea (score = 0) on each of the following items was to be presented: work/school, physical activities and leisure/social activities.	Baseline 4-day cramping window and Treatment Cycle 2 4-day cramping window, as determined by committee for each participant
Percentage of Participants With Pelvic Pain Score of "0" or "1" and no Use of Ibuprofen Tablets at Treatment Cycle 2	Participants were asked to rate their worst pain or cramps on a scale of 0 to 10 (0=No pain or cramps to 10=Extreme pain or cramps) and to indicate the number of ibuprofen tablets they took during the 4-day cramping window. The percentage of participants with no or minimal pelvic pain (score of "0" or "1") and no use of ibuprofen at Treatment Cycle 2 was to be presented.	Treatment Cycle 2 4-day cramping window, as determined by committee for each participant
Change From Baseline in Peak Pelvic Pain Score at Treatment Cycle 2	Participants were asked to rate their worst pain or cramps in the past 24 hours on a scale of 0 to 10 (0=No pain or cramps to 10=Extreme pain or cramps). The peak pelvic pain score was to be calculated as the highest (daily) pelvic pain score observed within the 4-day cramping window of the cycle. The baseline peak pelvic pain score was to be defined as the mean value of the 2 peak pelvic pain scores during the cramping window of each of the 2 menstruations during the screening period. The change from baseline in peak pelvic pain score at Treatment Cycle 2 was to be presented.	Baseline 4-day cramping window and Treatment Cycle 2 4-day cramping window, as determined by committee for each participant
Percentage of Participants With ≥3-point Reduction in Peak Pelvic Pain Score and a Decrease in Number of Ibuprofen Tablets Taken at Treatment Cycle 2, Compared to Baseline	Participants were asked to rate their worst pain or cramps in the past 24 hours on a scale of 0 to 10 (0=No pain or cramps to 10=Extreme pain or cramps) and to indicate the number of ibuprofen tablets they took during the 4-day cramping window. The baseline peak pelvic pain score and number of ibuprofen tablets taken were to be defined as the mean value of the 2 peak pelvic pain scores and the mean value of the total number of ibuprofen tablets taken during the cramping window of each of the 2 menstruations during the screening period, respectively. The percentage of participants with a reduction in peak pelvic pain score of ≥3 points and a decrease in the use of ibuprofen at Treatment Cycle 2 as compared to baseline was to be presented.	Baseline 4-day cramping window and Treatment Cycle 2 4-day cramping window, as determined by committee for each participant
Change From Baseline in the Mean Pelvic Pain Score at Treatment Cycle 2	The mean pelvic pain score was to be calculated as the mean of the highest scores for pelvic pain observed within the 4-day cramping window of the screening or treatment cycle. The baseline mean pelvic pain score was to be defined as the mean value of the 2 mean pelvic pain scores of the 2 menstruations during the screening period. The change from baseline in mean pelvic pain score at Treatment Cycle 2 was to be presented.	Baseline 4-day cramping window and Treatment Cycle 2 4-day cramping window, as determined by committee for each participant

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Organon and Co
• Investigators: Study Director: Medical Director, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 9, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 12, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): September 12, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 26, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 26, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): January 29, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 28, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 8, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Menstruation Disturbances; Pelvic Pain; Dysmenorrhea; 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; Ibuprofen
• Other Study ID Numbers: 8342B-060; 2015-004326-34 (EudraCT Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: https://www.merck.com/clinical-trials/pdf/ProcedureAccessClinicalTrialData.pdf

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No