Multicentre Phase III Erythropoietic Protoporphyria Study

A Phase III, Multicentre, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Subcutanenous Bioresorbable CUV1647 Implants in Patients With Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP)

This was a phase III, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous bioresorbable afamelanotide implants in patients with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP).

The study was conducted with two parallel study arms with crossover between treatments every 60 days.

Eligible patients were randomised to a treatment group, and received implants of active treatment (afamelanotide 16mg) or placebo, in an alternating crossover fashion according to the following dosing regime:

• Group A was administered active implants on Days 0, 120, 240 and placebo implants on Days 60, 180, 300
• Group B was administered placebo implants on Days 0, 120, 240 and active implants on Days 60, 180, 300

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Erythropoietic Protoporphyria
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Afamelanotide; Drug: Placebo

Detailed Description

Afamelanotide is a man-made drug being studied for use as a preventative medication for Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP) sufferers. It is a synthetically produced analogue of human alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH).

The study will involve the use of an implant, which comes in the form of a small rod to be administered under the skin. The implant may contain the study drug afamelanotide or a placebo (inactive medication).

This study aims to provide insight into the effectiveness of afamelanotide under normal conditions of use in EPP patients.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 100
• Phase: Phase 3

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:

• Male or female patients with a diagnosis of EPP (confirmed by elevated free protoporphyrin in peripheral erythrocytes) of sufficient severity that they have requested treatment to alleviate their symptoms.
• Aged 18-70 years.
• Written informed consent prior to the performance of any study-specific procedure.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any allergy to afamelanotide or the polymer contained in the implant or to lignocaine or other local anaesthetic used during the administration of study medication.
• EPP patients with significant hepatic involvement.
• Personal history of melanoma or dysplastic nevus syndrome.
• Current Bowen's disease, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or other malignant or premalignant skin lesions.
• Any other photodermatosis such as PLE, DLE or solar urticaria.
• Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or hepatitis.
• Any evidence of clinically significant organ dysfunction or any clinically significant deviation from normal in the clinical or laboratory determinations.
• Acute history of drug or alcohol abuse (in the last 12 months).
• History of disorders of the gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine (including diabetes, Cushing's syndrome, Addison's disease, Peutz-Jeagher syndrome), neurological (including seizures), haematological (especially anaemia of less than 10 g/100 mL) or systemic disease judged to be clinically significant by the Investigator.
• Major medical or psychiatric illness
• Patient assessed as not suitable for the study in the opinion of the investigator (e.g. noncompliance history allergic to local anaesthetics, faints when given injections or giving blood).
• Female who was pregnant (confirmed by positive serum β-HCG pregnancy test prior to baseline) or lactating.
• Females of child-bearing potential (pre-menopausal, not surgically sterile) not using adequate contraceptive measures (i.e. oral contraceptives, diaphragm plus spermicide, intrauterine device).
• Participation in a clinical trial of an investigational agent within 30 days prior to the screening visit.
• Use of regular medications as specified in protocol Section 5.4 Prior and Concomitant Therapy.
• Any factors that may affect skin reflectance measurements.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: QUADRUPLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Group A; Group A was administered active implants on Days 0, 120, 240 and placebo implants on Days 60, 180, 300	Drug: Afamelanotide; 16mg subcutaneous implant; Drug: Placebo; Placebo subcutaneous implant
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Group B; Group B was administered placebo implants on Days 0, 120, 240 and active implants on Days 60, 180, 300	Drug: Afamelanotide; 16mg subcutaneous implant; Drug: Placebo; Placebo subcutaneous implant

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cumulative Number of Days of Phototoxic Reactions (Study Efficacy Population)	The cumulative number of days where a phototoxic reaction occurred was recorded in the patient diary. The reported data represent a cumulative total for days of phototoxic reactions. The participant scored the level of pain using an 11-point Likert pain scale, with minimum of 0 and maximum of 10. The 11-point Likert Pain scale with a value of 0 represents no pain and 10 represents worst imaginable pain. The primary analysis population for efficacy was revised, to analyze only participants who reported cumulative total Likert pain scores of at least 26 during the study (0-360 days). This population, which was comprised of 60 patients, is identified as the Efficacy population. Participants with less than 26 Likert pain scores were not included in the analysis.	0-360 days or Early Termination
The Mean Number of Phototoxic Reactions (Study Efficacy Population)	The mean number of phototoxic reactions that occurred whilst patients were on active compared with placebo implants. The days on which the participant experienced pain as a result of phototoxic reactions (caused by exposure to natural light) was recorded in a study diary. On each day such a reaction occurred, the participant scored the level of pain using an 11-point Likert pain scale, with minimum of 0 and maximum of 10. The 11-point Likert pain scale with a value of 0 represents no pain and 10 represents worst imaginable pain. The primary analysis population for efficacy was revised, to analyze only participants who reported a cumulative total Likert pain score of at least 26 during the study (0-360 days). This population, which was comprised of 60 patients, is identified as the Efficacy population. Participants with less than 26 Likert pain scores were not included in the analysis.	0-360 days or Early Termination

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cumulative Number of Days With Sunlight Exposure (Study Efficacy Population)	The number of days with sunlight exposure was recorded in the patient diary. The sunlight exposures were divided into the following categories: none, < 1 hour, 1 to 3 hours, 3 to 6 hours and > 6 hours per day.	0-360 days or Early Termination
Skin Melanin Density (Study Completers Population)	Changes in melanin density (MD) (measured by spectrophotometry) at each visit by group. Participants had their skin pigmentation measured by a non-invasive quantitative skin chromaticity (reflectance) reading. Reflectance by the skin of light measured at the wavelengths of 400 nm and 420 nm was recorded using a Minolta cm-2500d spectrophotometer at the following skin sites: forehead, left cheek, right inside upper arm, left medial forearm, right side of abdomen (avoiding implant insertion site), left side of sacral region/buttock. Melanin density was determined for each skin site using the method of Dwyer et al 1998.	Day0, Day14, Day30, Day60, Day74, Day90, Day120, Day150, Day180, Day210, Day240, Day270, Day300, Day330, Day360 or Early Termination
Change in Quality of Life Using SF36 Questionnaire (Physical Component Score) for Study Completers Population	The Summary of SF36 change from Baseline of Physical Component Score (PCS) to the scores during treatment on Days 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 using the SF36 questionnaire. The SF-36 (The Short Form 36 Health Survey) consists of eight scaled scores, which are the weighted sums of the questions in each section. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. The higher scores represent better health-related quality-of-life.	Day0, Day60, Day120, Day180, Day240, Day300, Day360 or Early Termination
Change in Quality of Life Using SF36 Questionnaire (Mental Component Score) for Study Completers Population	The Summary of SF36 change from Baseline of Mental Component Score (MCS) to the scores during treatment on Days 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 using the SF36 questionnaire. The SF-36 (The Short Form 36 Health Survey) consists of eight scaled scores, which are the weighted sums of the questions in each section. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. The higher scores represent better health-related quality-of-life.	Day0, Day60, Day120, Day180, Day240, Day300, Day360 or Early Termination

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited
• Investigators: Study Director: Head of Clinical Development, CLINUVEL PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Dwyer T, Muller HK, Blizzard L, Ashbolt R, Phillips G. The use of spectrophotometry to estimate melanin density in Caucasians. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1998 Mar;7(3):203-6.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): May 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): December 9, 2009
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 9, 2009

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 8, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2019
• First Posted (ACTUAL): August 12, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): October 10, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 8, 2019
• Last Verified: October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: EPP; Erythropoietic Protoporphyria; Afamelanotide
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Metabolic Diseases; Skin Diseases; Liver Diseases; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Skin Diseases, Genetic; Porphyrias, Hepatic; Porphyrias; Protoporphyria, Erythropoietic; Dermatologic Agents; Afamelanotide
• Other Study ID Numbers: CUV017