Elbasvir (EBR)/Grazoprevir (GZR) in Pediatric Participants With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection (MK-5172-079)

A Phase IIb Clinical Study to Assess the Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Efficacy of the Combination Regimen of Elbasvir (EBR)/Grazoprevir (GZR) in Participants Aged 3 to Less Than 18 Years With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

The purpose of this study is to assess the pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and efficacy of oral MK-5172 (a fixed dose combination [FDC] tablet containing elbasvir [EBR] 50 mg and grazoprevir [GZR] 100 mg) and EBR/GZR (varying doses) pediatric granules in pediatric hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected participants who are 3 to <18 years of age. Within each age cohort (Cohort 1: 12 to <18 years of age; Cohort 2: 7 to <12 years of age; and Cohort 3: 3 to <7 years of age), a Mini Cohort of 7 participants will be enrolled first. For the oldest cohort (Cohort 1), the Mini Cohort will assess ability to swallow a placebo tablet prior to administering active FDC tablets; participants in Cohorts 2 and 3 will take pediatric granules instead of a tablet.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: HCV Infection
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: EBR/GZR FDC Tablet; Drug: Placebo; Drug: Grazoprevir Oral Granules; Drug: Elbasvir Oral Granules

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 57
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Hannover, Germany, 30625
    • Medizinische Hochschule Hannover Kinderklinik K10 ( Site 0105)
  • Starnberg, Germany, 82319
    • Klinikum Starnberg ( Site 0107)
  • Wuppertal, Germany, 42283
    • Helios Klinikum Wuppertal GmbH ( Site 0104)
• Poland
  • Bydgoszcz, Poland, 85-030
    • WSOZ im.T.Browicza w Bydgoszczy ( Site 0800)
  • Lodz, Poland, 91-347
    • Wojewodzki Specjalistyczny Szpital im. dr W. Bieganskiego w Lodzi ( Site 0810)
  • Poznan, Poland, 60-693
    • MED-POLONIA Sp. z o.o. ( Site 0808)
• Sweden
  • Stockholm, Sweden, 141 86
    • Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Huddinge. ( Site 0062)
• United States
  • California
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94158
      • University of California San Francisco ( Site 0020)
  • Florida
    • Orlando, Florida, United States, 32803
      • Florida Hospital ( Site 0006)
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30329
      • Children's Center for Advanced Pediatrics ( Site 0204)
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Children's Hospital Boston ( Site 0009)
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45229
      • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center ( Site 0003)
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224
      • Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh ( Site 0024)
  • Texas
    • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78215
      • American Research Corporation ( Site 0200)
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105
      • Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center ( Site 0017)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years to 17 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Has documented chronic HCV genotype (GT) 1 or GT4 infection
• Has the following liver disease staging assessment: absence of cirrhosis or compensated cirrhosis
• Has one of the following HCV treatment statuses:
• GT1 and GT4: treatment-naïve (TN), defined as no prior exposure to any interferon (IFN)-containing regimen, ribavirin (RBV), or other HCV-specific direct acting antiviral (DAA) agent
• GT1 only: treatment-experienced (TE) with no previous treatment with HCV specific DAA agents.
• If female is not pregnant, not breastfeeding, and is either not of childbearing potential or follows the contraceptive guidance during the treatment period and for at least 14 days after the last dose of study treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Has evidence of decompensated liver disease manifested by the presence of or history of ascites, esophageal or gastric variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, or other signs or symptoms of advanced liver disease.
• Is cirrhotic AND has a Child-Turcotte-Pugh score >6, corresponding to a Child Class B or C.
• Is co-infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
• Has evidence of past or present hepatitis B infection.
• Has a history of malignancy ≤5 years prior to signing informed consent or is under evaluation for other active or suspected malignancy.
• Female expects to conceive or donate eggs from Day 1 through at least 14 days after the last dose of study treatment or longer.
• Has any of the following conditions: organ transplants other than cornea and hair; poor venous access; history of gastric surgery or malabsorption disorders; any clinically significant cardiac abnormalities/dysfunction that may interfere with participant treatment, assessment, or compliance; any major medical condition which might interfere with participant treatment, assessment, or compliance; history of a medical/surgical condition that resulted in hospitalization within the 3 months prior to enrollment; medical/surgical conditions that may result in a need for hospitalization during the study duration; any medical condition requiring, or likely to require, chronic systemic administration of corticosteroids, tumor necrosis factor antagonists, or immunosuppressant drugs; life-threatening serious adverse event (SAE) during the screening period; history of chronic hepatitis not caused by HCV.
• If female has a positive urine pregnancy test within 24 hours before the first dose of study treatment.
• Is taking or plans to take prohibited medications, or is taking herbal supplements.
• Has had previous HCV direct acting antiviral (DAA) treatment.
• Is currently participating or has participated in a study with an investigational compound within prior 30 days
• Has significant emotional problems or a clinically significant psychiatric disorder that may interfere with participant treatment, assessment, or compliance with the protocol.
• Has clinically relevant drug or alcohol abuse within prior 12 months that may interfere with participant treatment, assessment, or compliance.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: EBR/GZR; Pediatric participants receive EBR/GZR as either FDC tablets or oral granules once daily for 12 weeks. A 24-week follow-up period will follow the 12-week treatment regimen.

Drug: EBR/GZR FDC Tablet; Participants who are 12 to <18 years of age will receive oral FDC tablets with EBR 50 mg/GZR 100 mg once daily by mouth.; Other Names: MK-5172A; ZEPATIER®; Drug: Placebo; Placebo tablet matched to EBR/GZR FDC tablet.; Drug: Grazoprevir Oral Granules; Participants 3 to <12 years of age take grazoprevir granules 0.5 mg by mouth in a soft food vehicle at a dose not to exceed 50 mg.; Other Names: MK-5172; Drug: Elbasvir Oral Granules; Participants 3 to <12 years of age take elbasvir oral granules 1 mg by mouth in a soft food vehicle at a dose not to exceed 100 mg.; Other Names: MK-8742

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Area Under the Plasma Concentration-Time Curve From Dosing to 24 Hours Postdose (AUC0-24hr) of EBR at Steady State	The AUC0-24hr of EBR at steady state (Week 4) was determined in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hours postdose
Maximum Plasma Concentration (Cmax) of EBR	The Cmax of EBR at steady state (Week 4) was determined in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hours postdose
Steady State Predose Drug Concentration (Ctrough) of EBR	The Ctrough of EBR at steady state (Week 4) was determined at steady state prior to dosing in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose
Apparent Clearance (CL/F) of EBR at Steady State	The CL/F of EBR at steady state (Week 4) was determined in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hours postdose
AUC0-24hr of GZR at Steady State	The AUC0-24hr of GZR at steady state (Week 4) was determined in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hours postdose
Cmax of GZR	The Cmax of GZR at steady state (Week 4) was determined in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hours postdose
Ctrough of GZR	The Ctrough of GZR at steady state (Week 4) was determined at steady state prior to dosing in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose
CL/F of GZR at Steady State	The CL/F of GZR at steady state (Week 4) was determined in each cohort.	Week 4: Predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 hours postdose

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants With ≥1 Adverse Event (AE)	The percentage of participants with ≥1 AE is reported in each cohort. An AE is any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical study participant, temporally associated with the use of study treatment, whether or not considered related to the study treatment.	Up to 36 weeks
Percentage of Participants Discontinuing Study Treatment Due to an AE	The percentage of participants discontinuing study therapy due to an AE is reported in each cohort. An AE is any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical study participant, temporally associated with the use of study treatment, whether or not considered related to the study treatment.	Up to 12 weeks
Percentage of Participants With Sustained Virologic Response 12 Weeks After Completing Treatment (SVR12)	The percentage of participants achieving SVR12, defined as hepatitis C virus (HCV) ribonucleic acid (RNA) < lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) 12 weeks after completing study therapy, was determined in each cohort.	Week 24

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gonzalez-Peralta RP, Wirth S, Squires RH, Mutschler F, Lang T, Pawlowska M, Sluzewski W, Majda-Stanislawska E, Fischler B, Balistreri WF, Jonas MM, Blondet N, Rosenthal P, Alkhouri N, Romero R, Grandhi A, Castronuovo P, Caro L, Du L, Rosenbloom DIS, Haber BA. Elbasvir/grazoprevir in children aged 3-18 years with chronic HCV genotype 1 or 4 infection: a pharmacokinetic modeling study. Hepatol Commun. 2023 Feb 14;7(3):e0031. doi: 10.1097/HC9.0000000000000031. eCollection 2023 Mar 1.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 25, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 28, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): July 23, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 13, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 18, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): December 20, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 31, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 3, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Pathologic Processes; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Blood-Borne Infections; Disease Attributes; Liver Diseases; Flaviviridae Infections; Hepatitis, Viral, Human; Hepatitis, Chronic; Hepatitis; Chronic Disease; Infections; Communicable Diseases; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C, Chronic; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiviral Agents; Grazoprevir
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5172-079; 2015-003006-16 (EudraCT Number); MK-5172-079 (Other Identifier: Merck Protocol Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: http://engagezone.msd.com/doc/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