Development of a Selective ALDH2 Inhibitor to Treat AUD

Development of a Selective ALDH2 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a highly prevalent, costly, and often untreated condition in the United States. Pharmacotherapy offers a promising avenue for treating AUD and for improving clinical outcomes for this debilitating disorder. While developing novel medications to treat AUD remains a high priority research area, there are major opportunities to refine the process of screening novel compounds.

A promising novel pharmacology for AUD consists of the ANS-6637 compound which provides novel aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibition. Unlike disulfiram, a non-selective and irreversible ALDH2 and ALDH1 inhibitor, which produces an aversive flushing response, the oral ANS-6637 compound is a selective and reversible inhibitor of ALDH2 that attenuates the surge in dopamine (DA). Specifically, a preclinical study found that ANS-6637 blunted the surge of DA in ventral tegmental neurons without affecting the basal levels of DA in vivo in a rodent model of alcohol seeking behavior. In rodent models, selective and reversible ALDH2 inhibitors decrease alcohol seeking and taking, prevent operant self-administration, and block cue-induced reinstatement. These results suggest that ANS-6637 may be an effective treatment to reduce heavy drinking and suppress relapse in individuals with AUD.

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose response study of ANS-6637. A total of 75 men and women with current AUD will be randomly assigned to receive (a) ANS-6637 (200 mg), (b) ANS-6637 (600 mg), or (c) matched placebo for 7 days. On Day 4, participants will complete an fMRI task before and 45-minutes after a priming dose of alcohol (target Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) of 0.03 g/dl). On Day 7 participants will return to the laboratory to complete an oral alcohol administration paradigm. The successful completion of this study will advance medications development for AUD by advancing the development of ANS-6637, a novel and promising compound for AUD.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Alcohol Use Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: ANS-6637 Low Dose; Drug: ANS-6637 High Dose; Drug: Matched Placebo

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • UCLA Addictions Lab

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 21 years and older (adult, older adult);
2. meeet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (moderate or severe);
3. report drinking at least 48 standard drinks in a 30-day period, during the 90 days before enrollment.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. current treatment for alcohol problems;
2. a history of treatment for alcohol problems in the 30 days before enrollment;
3. currently seeking treatment for alcohol problems;
4. current DSM-5 diagnosis of dependence on any psychoactive substances other than alcohol or nicotine;
5. lifetime DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or any psychotic disorder;
6. positive urine screen for narcotics, amphetamines, or sedative hypnotics;
7. serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms as indicated by a score of ≥10 on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised (CIWA-Ar)
8. pregnant, nursing, or refusal to use reliable birth control method (if female);
9. medical condition that may interfere with safe study participation (e.g. unstable cardiac, renal, or liver disease, uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes);
10. AST, ALT, or GGT ≥ 3 times upper limit of normal;
11. attempted suicide in the past 3 years and/or serious suicidal intention or plan in the past year;
12. currently on prescription medication that contraindicates use of ANS-6637;
13. other circumstances that, in the opinion of the investigators, compromises participant safety

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: ANS-6637 Low Dose; 200mg ANS-6637 (2 tablets)	Drug: ANS-6637 Low Dose; ANS-6647 is a selective, reversible, and orally bioavailable aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibitor. It will be tested at a low dose (200mg) and a high dose (600mg) against matched placebo.
Active Comparator: ANS-6637 High Dose; 600mg ANS-6637 (2 tablets)	Drug: ANS-6637 High Dose; ANS-6647 is a selective, reversible, and orally bioavailable aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibitor. It will be tested at a low dose (200mg) and a high dose (600mg) against matched placebo.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; 0mg matched placebo (2 tablets)	Drug: Matched Placebo; ANS-6647 is a selective, reversible, and orally bioavailable aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibitor. It will be tested at a low dose (200mg) and a high dose (600mg) against matched placebo.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Subjective Response to Alcohol	Participants will complete an oral alcohol challenge and will rate their subjective responses to alcohol at baseline (BrAC = 0.00 g/dl) and at 30, 45, 60, 120, and 180 minutes post alcohol. The primary outcome variables will be (a) alcohol craving, (b) stimulant/reward, and (c) sedative/aversive effects of alcohol.	Baseline, 30-, 45-, 60-, 120-, and 180-minutes post alcohol
Change in Neural Alcohol Cue Reactivity	Participants will complete a neuroimaging paradigm in which they view alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage cues and will rate their subjective craving for alcohol. The primary outcome variable will be BOLD activation to alcohol cues in mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry.	Assessed on Day 4. Scan duration 1 hour.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles
• Collaborators: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA); Amygdala Neurosciences
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Erica Grodin, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): April 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): January 1, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): March 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 11, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): March 17, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 25, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 20, 2021
• Last Verified: May 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder; Medications Development
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Drinking Behavior; Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholism
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1R21AA028444

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: All data collected in this project will be shared (after appropriate de-identification) with the scientific community in a timely manner, in accordance with NIH Policy. Specifically, the dataset will be made available to the scientific community upon request and a data application will be required. These procedures are consistent with the recent NIAAA announcement: NOT-AA-18-010

Drug and device information, study documents

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