Safety and Therapeutic Potential of the FDA-approved Drug Metformin for C9orf72 ALS/FTD

A Single-Center, Open Label Study to Assess the Safety and Tolerability of Metformin in Subjects With C9orf72 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Over 24 Weeks of Treatment

The primary objective is to assess the safety and tolerability of Metformin in subjects with C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis administered for 24 weeks. The overall objective is to determine if Metformin is safe in C9orf72 ALS patients and is a potentially viable therapeutic treatment for C9-ALS that reduces repeat-associated non-canonical start codon - in DNA (non-ATG) (RAN) proteins that are produced by the C9orf72 repeat expansion mutation.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Frontotemporal Dementia; C9orf72 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Metformin

Detailed Description

The C9orf72 repeat expansion is the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (C9-ALS/FTD). Metformin, a well-tolerated diabetes drug, blocks a key pathway for expression of toxic proteins produced from the C9orf72 repeat expansion via repeat associated non-canonical start codon - in RNA (non-AUG) (RAN) translation. In mouse model of C9-ALS/FTD, metformin treatment decreases RAN protein levels and improves disease features. This current study is a small-scale clinical trial to assess the safety and potential efficacy of metformin for the treatment of C9-ALS/FTD.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 41
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32610
      • UF Health at the University of Florida

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects have a diagnosis of probable or definite ALS in accordance with the Revisited El-Escorial Criteria.
• Subjects have a likely diagnosis of chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) positive ALS/FTD.
• Subjects must be currently on an oral diet and able to take foods, pills and liquids by mouth equivalent to a score of 4 or above on the Functional Oral Intake Scale
• Subjects must have no known allergy to barium sulfate or Metformin.
• Subjects or subject's legally authorized representative must be willing and able to complete informed consent/assent and HIPAA authorization.
• Ability to comprehend and be informed of the nature of the study, as assessed by the PI or Co-Investigators.
• Subjects prescribed to take Metformin at or before the time of first dosing. (The study is open to subjects currently taking Metformin or subjects who have taken Metformin in the past).
• Availability to participate for the entire study duration.
• Female subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative urine pregnancy test prior to Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study (VFSS) exam during Visit 1, 3, and 4.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects who score 3 or below on the Functional Oral Intake Scale
• Subjects who do not carry the C9ORF72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion as determined by laboratory analysis.
• Subjects with a history of clinically significant liver disease, renal disease, or any other medical condition judged to be exclusionary by the investigator.
• Subjects who are unwilling to sign informed consent or subjects who for any other reason in the judgment of investigator are unable to complete the study.
• Female subjects who have a positive urine pregnancy test (βhCG) at screening or visit 1, are trying to become pregnant or are breastfeeding.
• Subjects with active cancer within the previous 2 years, except treated basal cell carcinoma of the skin.
• Subjects who have taken any experimental drug within 30 days prior to enrollment or within 5 half-lives of the investigational drug -whichever is the longer period.
• Subjects with known history or presence of moderate or severe renal impairment as defined by an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) value below 30 mL/min/1.73 m2.
• Subjects with hepatic impairment as defined by baseline elevations of serum aminotransferases greater than 5 times upper limit of normal or evidence of liver dysfunction (e.g., elevated bilirubin).
• Use of potentially hepatotoxic drugs: (e.g., allopurinol, methyldopa, sulfasalazine).
• Subjects with clinically significant abnormal laboratory values in the judgment of the investigator.
• Subject with implanted electrical device (i.e. cardiac pacemaker or a neurostimulator), metal or metallic clip(s) in their body (i.e. an aneurysm clip in the brain) that will be damaged by participation in the MRI portion of the study.
• Anything else that, in the opinion of the investigator, would place the subject at increased risk or preclude the subject's full compliance with or completion of the study.

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: C9orf72 positive ALS; Subjects with C9orf72 positive ALS will be instructed in the use of Metformin and receive the first dose of Metformin under supervision of the investigator during Visit 1, Day 2. Subjects will then continue on Metformin per the dose escalation schedule twice daily for 24 weeks.

Drug: Metformin; Metformin is a widely used, well-tolerated drug that has been used for decades as a first-line defense for treating type 2 diabetes. Its safety has been well established. Subjects will begin treatment with Metformin at a dosage of 500mg with an escalation of dosage by 500mg every week to a maximal dosage of 2000mg. Dosing will be twice daily.; Other Names: Metformin hydrochloride sustained-release (SR)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Subjects With Unexpected Treatment-emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]	The safety and tolerability of Metformin in participants with C9orf72 ALS currently treated with Metformin will be evaluated by the number of subjects with treatment-emergent adverse events	Baseline through 24 weeks
Change in Repeat Associated Non-AUG (RAN) Protein Levels	Assessment of RAN protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from participants calculated as the percentage change in polyglycine-proline (GP) levels in ng/ml at study start & end of the study as measured by Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) assays.	Baseline through week 24.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) Score	The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) is a quickly administered (5 minute) ordinal rating scale (ratings 0-4) used to assess the capability and independence of subjects across 12 functional activities/questions. The score represents the sum of 12 functional domain items where each item is scored from 0 to 4 (Max score for each functional domain is 4 (Normal function); Minimum score for each functional domain = 0 (No ability to perform the task). The total score range is from 0 to 48, with a score of 48 meaning no functional impairment and 0 meaning complete loss of function across all domains. The mean values reported are at each study visit which occurred at baseline and at approximately 6, 12 and 24 weeks. The total number of days between study visits varied due to scheduling issues.	Baseline through Week 24

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Florida
• Collaborators: United States Department of Defense; ALS Association
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laura Ranum, PhD, University of Florida

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Atassi N, Berry J, Shui A, Zach N, Sherman A, Sinani E, Walker J, Katsovskiy I, Schoenfeld D, Cudkowicz M, Leitner M. The PRO-ACT database: design, initial analyses, and predictive features. Neurology. 2014 Nov 4;83(19):1719-25. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000951. Epub 2014 Oct 8.
• Rosenbek JC, Robbins JA, Roecker EB, Coyle JL, Wood JL. A penetration-aspiration scale. Dysphagia. 1996 Spring;11(2):93-8. doi: 10.1007/BF00417897.
• Crary MA, Mann GD, Groher ME. Initial psychometric assessment of a functional oral intake scale for dysphagia in stroke patients. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Aug;86(8):1516-20. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2004.11.049.
• Cedarbaum JM, Stambler N, Malta E, Fuller C, Hilt D, Thurmond B, Nakanishi A. The ALSFRS-R: a revised ALS functional rating scale that incorporates assessments of respiratory function. BDNF ALS Study Group (Phase III). J Neurol Sci. 1999 Oct 31;169(1-2):13-21. doi: 10.1016/s0022-510x(99)00210-5.
• Watanabe H, Atsuta N, Nakamura R, Hirakawa A, Watanabe H, Ito M, Senda J, Katsuno M, Izumi Y, Morita M, Tomiyama H, Taniguchi A, Aiba I, Abe K, Mizoguchi K, Oda M, Kano O, Okamoto K, Kuwabara S, Hasegawa K, Imai T, Aoki M, Tsuji S, Nakano I, Kaji R, Sobue G. Factors affecting longitudinal functional decline and survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2015 Jun;16(3-4):230-6. doi: 10.3109/21678421.2014.990036. Epub 2014 Dec 30.
• Cammack AJ, Atassi N, Hyman T, van den Berg LH, Harms M, Baloh RH, Brown RH, van Es MA, Veldink JH, de Vries BS, Rothstein JD, Drain C, Jockel-Balsarotti J, Malcolm A, Boodram S, Salter A, Wightman N, Yu H, Sherman AV, Esparza TJ, McKenna-Yasek D, Owegi MA, Douthwright C; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; McCampbell A, Ferguson T, Cruchaga C, Cudkowicz M, Miller TM. Prospective natural history study of C9orf72 ALS clinical characteristics and biomarkers. Neurology. 2019 Oct 22;93(17):e1605-e1617. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008359. Epub 2019 Oct 2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 10, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 26, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 3, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 3, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): January 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 2, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 18, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: ALS; FTD; Lou Gehrigs Disease
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neuromuscular Diseases; Metabolic Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Spinal Cord Diseases; TDP-43 Proteinopathies; Proteostasis Deficiencies; Motor Neuron Disease; Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Frontotemporal Dementia; Organic Chemicals; Biguanides; Guanidines; Amidines; Metformin
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB201800620; UF2019-001 (Other Identifier: UF Protocol ID); OCR20620 (Other Identifier: UF OnCore); CDMRP AL220089 (Other Grant/Funding Number: USAMRAA); AGR DTD 12-20-2022 (Other Grant/Funding Number: ALS Association)

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