Trial of Topical Verapamil in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps

July 15, 2019 updated by: Benjamin Bleier

Phase Ib/II Clinical Trial of Topical Verapamil Hydrochloride for Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps

Verapamil is an L-type calcium channel blocker(CCB) which has been shown to reduce inflammation in a variety of tissues. Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is characterized by eosinophilic inflammation as well as P-gp overexpression. A previous trial of oral Verapamil showed preliminary efficacy for the treatment of CRSwNP. The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intranasal Verapamil in CRSwNP. The study was initially approved as a Phase Ib/II, but only the Phase Ib portion was completed as part of this protocol.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

CRSwNP is a prevalent disease associated with major direct and indirect costs. Acute and Chronic Rhinosinusitis are estimated to affect up to 16% of the US population. They account for approximately 11 million or 1% of all office visits per year in the US and are the most common cause for antibiotic prescriptions in the community. CRS alone impacts more than 30 million Americans resulting in $6.9 to $9.9 billion in annual healthcare expenditures and $12.8 billion in productivity costs. The subset of patients in Europe with CRSwNP has been estimated to be between 2 and 4.3% and is thought to be similar in the US. This population remains one of the most challenging subgroups of CRS to manage effectively.

Recent evidence has focused on the sinonasal epithelial cell as a primary driver of the local dysregulated immune response through secretion of type 2 helper T-cell(Th2) promoting cytokines. While these studies suggest that epithelial cells are capable of orchestrating a local immune response, the mechanisms responsible for regulating cytokine secretion are poorly understood and may be influenced by the efflux function of epithelial P-glycoprotein(P-gp). Studies by the investigator's group have demonstrated that P-gp is overexpressed in the mucosa of patients with Th2 skewed CRS endotypes including CRSwNP and is capable of regulating the secretion of Th2 polarizing cytokines. Together, these findings suggest that P-gp participates in the non-canonical regulation of cytokine secretion within CRSwNP and may thereby represent a druggable target.

The investigator's group therefore undertook a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test the efficacy of low dose oral Verapamil HCl, a known first generation P-gp inhibitor, for the treatment of CRSwNP. Our findings demonstrated significant efficacy in both of the primary and secondary endpoints with no significant side effects. However, a logistic regression analysis revealed two important relationships between baseline characteristics and efficacy. First, patients with elevated BMI had significantly lower improvements in the Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) (p=0.01). The second is that patients with the highest total mucus P-gp levels experienced less benefit(p=0.01).

While Verapamil HCl has significant potential for the treatment of CRSwNP through P-gp inhibition, higher doses must be achieved to extend the effect to patients with elevated BMIs and the highest levels of P-gp expression. As increasing oral dosing could result in cardiac side effects, topical delivery represents a promising alternative. As exosome bound P-gp may be more stable and representative of disease state than total mucus P-gp concentration, exosomal P-gp demands further exploration as a novel biomarker of disease severity and drug response.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

6

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts Eye and Ear

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients presenting to the Mass Eye and Ear Sinus Center
  • Age 18-80 yrs old
  • Diagnosed with Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps according to the EPOS 2012 consensus criteria
  • Post-operative with a Lund-Kennedy Poly score of <4
  • Baseline SNOT-22 Score ≥ 30

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with the following comorbidities:
  • GI Hypomotility
  • Heart Failure
  • Liver Failure
  • Kidney Disease
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Pregnant or Nursing Females
  • Steroid Dependency
  • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
  • Any Atrial or Ventricular arrhythmia (ie. Atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, etc..)
  • Resting Heart Rate less than 60 beats per minute
  • Baseline Systolic Blood Pressure less than 110 mmHg
  • Baseline Diastolic Blood Pressure less than 70 mmHg
  • Baseline Mean Arterial Pressure Less than 60 mmHg
  • PR interval less than 0.12 seconds
  • Patients taking the following medications:
  • Aspirin
  • Beta-blockers
  • Cimetidine(Tagamet)
  • Clarithromycin(Biaxin)
  • Cyclosporin
  • Digoxin
  • Disopyramide(Norpace)
  • Diuretics
  • Erythromycin
  • Flecainide
  • HIV Protease Inhibitors(Indinavir, Nelfinavir, Ritonavir)
  • Quinidine
  • Lithium
  • Pioglitazone
  • Rifampin
  • St Johns Wort
  • Patients with cardiac or conduction abnormality picked up by screening EKG
  • Post-op patients with surgery within 3 months prior to enrollment.

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
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Phase Ib
The phase Ib study will consist of an accelerated titration, intrapatient dose escalation cohort, with double-dose step design of Verapamil Hydrochloride. Intranasal BID for 1 week. Dose escalation will occur weekly as a doubling of the dose from 10-120mg Verapamil delivered in 240mL buffered normal saline. If a single, any course, dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) or second, any course, IT occurs, two additional patients will be recruited at that identified dose and Phase Ib will revert to a standard 3+3 design. If any patient un-enrolls while the dose escalation is still occurring, they will be replaced to maintain 3 patient cohorts. The maximal administered dose (MAD) will be considered that at which at least 2 DLTs or 4 ITs occur and the MTD will then be assigned to the immediate preceding dose.
Drug: Verapamil Hydrochloride Intranasal
Verapamil solution for injection, supplied in vials, will be utilized in a Neil Med Sinus Rinse of 240mL buffered normal saline.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants With Dose Limiting Toxicity
Time Frame: 1-8 weeks
Dose Limiting Toxicity will be defined as a development of 2nd or 3rd degree heart block as measured by an EKG. (Phase Ib primary outcome)
1-8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Benjamin Bleier

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Benjamin S Bleier, MD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear

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 (Actual)

June 5, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 26, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

March 26, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 14, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

April 5, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2019

Last Verified

July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 17-002H

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

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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