Study of Efficacy and Safety of MAS825 in Patients With COVID-19 (MAS-COVID)

A Phase 2, Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Participant and Investigator Blinded, Multi-center Study to Assess Efficacy and Safety of MAS825 for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infected Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia and Impaired Respiratory Function

This clinical study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of MAS825 for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infected patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and impaired respiratory function.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: COVID-19 Pneumonia, Impaired Respiratory Function
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Standard of Care (SoC); Drug: MAS825; Other: Placebo

Detailed Description

This was a Phase 2, randomized, placebo -controlled, participant and investigator blinded, multi-center study to assess efficacy and safety of MAS825 for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and impaired respiratory function.

The study consisted of five study periods:

Screening / Baseline / Treatment visit (Day -1 to 1): Lasted up to a maximum of 24 hours and comprised a screening / baseline assessment. This visit was used to confirm that the study inclusion and exclusion criteria were met and served as baseline assessment prior to randomization. Participants were randomized as soon as possible, but within a maximum of 24 hours after screening in a 1:1 ratio receiving a single intravenous infusion of MAS825 or placebo in addition to standard of care (SoC) on Day -1 to 1.

Treatment period (Day 2-15): Study assessments were conducted every 2 days for hospitalized participants. If participants were discharged from the hospital prior to Day 15, assessments on the day of discharge were performed according to the schedule listed under Day 15 and those participants returned to the site for the Day 15 assessment (all other visits between discharge and Day 15 were omitted).

Follow-up (Day 16-29): After completion of the treatment period, participants were observed until Day 29 or discharged from hospital, whichever was sooner. Study assessments were conducted every 2 days for domiciled participants. If participants were discharged from hospital prior to Day 29, a study visit conducted by telephone was performed on Day 29 (all other visits between discharge and Day 29 were omitted).

Safety follow-up visit assessment (Day 45): A follow-up visit for safety was conducted at Day 45 if the participant was hospitalized. If participants were discharged from the hospital prior to Day 45, a study visit was conducted by telephone on Day 45.

End of Study/Safety follow-up visit assessment (Day 127): A follow-up visit for safety was conducted at Day 127 if the participant was hospitalized. If participants were discharged from the hospital prior to Day 127, a study visit was conducted by telephone on Day 127.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 140
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Chula Vista, California, United States, 91911
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Glendale, California, United States, 91206
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Irvine, California, United States, 92697
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • La Mesa, California, United States, 91942
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Santa Monica, California, United States, 90404
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Torrance, California, United States, 90503
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Colorado
    • Denver, Colorado, United States, 80220
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20037
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Idaho
    • Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States, 83404
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Louisiana
    • Alexandria, Louisiana, United States, 71301
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, 70809
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Lafayette, Louisiana, United States, 70596
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02118
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • New York
    • Brooklyn, New York, United States, 11219
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • North Carolina
    • Asheville, North Carolina, United States, 28805
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Ohio
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43214
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Oregon
    • Bend, Oregon, United States, 97701
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19140
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Mesquite, Texas, United States, 75149
      • Novartis Investigative Site

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male and female patients aged ≥18 years at screening
2. Signed Informed Consent Form (ICF) by patient capable of giving consent, or, when the patient is not capable of giving consent, by his or her legal/authorized representative (if allowed according to local requirements)
3. Clinically diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or by other approved diagnostic methodology within 7 days prior to randomization
4. Hospitalized with COVID-19-induced pneumonia evidenced by chest x-ray, computed tomography scan (CT scan) or magnetic resonance scan (MR scan) (taken within 5 days prior to randomization)
5. Impaired respiratory function, defined as peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) ≤93% on room air or partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) / fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) <300 millimeter of mercury (mmHg) at time of screening For cities located at altitudes greater than 2500 m above sea level, these will be substituted with SpO2 <90% and PaO2/FiO2 <250 mmHg
6. Acute Physiologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score of ≥10 at time of screening
7. CRP ≥20 mg/L or ferritin level ≥600 μg/L at screening
8. Body weight between 45 kg and 145 kg, inclusive, at screening
9. Ability to comply with the study protocol, in the investigator's judgment

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of hypersensitivity to the investigational treatment or their excipients or to drugs of similar chemical classes
2. Suspected active or chronic bacterial (including Mycobacterium tuberculosis), fungal, viral, or other infection with the exception of SARS-CoV-2
3. In the opinion of the investigator, progression to death is imminent and inevitable within the next 24 hours, irrespective of the provision of treatment
4. Intubated prior to randomization
5. Patients who have explicitly expressed the wish not to receive intensive care support when this would be indicated based on their condition

6. Previous treatment with anti-rejection and immunomodulatory drugs within the past 2 weeks, or within the past 30 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is the longer) for immunomodulatory therapeutic antibodies or prohibited drugs, with the exception of anti-viral therapies or corticosteroids

   • For COVID-19 infection, ongoing corticosteroid treatment is permitted at doses as per local SoC
   • For non-COVID-19 disorders, ongoing corticosteroid treatment is permitted at doses up to and including prednisolone 10 mg daily or equivalent.
7. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) or aspartate transaminase (AST) >5 times upper limit of normal detected within 24 hours at screening/baseline (according to local laboratory reference ranges) or other evidence of severe hepatic impairment.
8. Absolute peripheral blood neutrophil count of ≤1000/mm^3
9. Estimated GFR (eGFR) ≤30 mL/min/1.73m^2 (based on CKD-EPI formula)
10. Pregnant or breastfeeding, or positive urine or serum pregnancy test in a pre-dose examination
11. Any serious medical condition or abnormality of clinical laboratory tests that, in the investigator's judgment, precludes the patient's safe participation in and completion of the study
12. Women of child-bearing potential, defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant, unless they agree to abstain from any sexual intercourse for a total of 29 days after randomization (the 14-day treatment period plus a 14-day follow-up period).
13. Current participation in any other investigational trials, with the exception of (not yet) approved COVID-19 therapies that are considered (local) standard of care.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: MAS825 + SoC; Single dose of MAS825 10 mg/kg by intravenous infusion in addition to SoC	Drug: Standard of Care (SoC); SoC included a variety of supportive therapies that ranged from the administration of supplementary oxygen to full intensive care support, alongside the use of antiviral treatment, convalescent plasma, corticosteroids, antibiotics or other agents.; Drug: MAS825; MAS825 liquid solution for intravenous infusion
Placebo Comparator: Placebo + SoC; Single dose of matching Placebo by intravenous infusion in addition to SoC	Drug: Standard of Care (SoC); SoC included a variety of supportive therapies that ranged from the administration of supplementary oxygen to full intensive care support, alongside the use of antiviral treatment, convalescent plasma, corticosteroids, antibiotics or other agents.; Other: Placebo; Placebo liquid solution for intravenous infusion

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
APACHE II Severity of Disease Score on Day 15 or on the Day of Discharge (Whichever is Earlier)	The APACHE II ("Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation II") is a severity-of-disease classification system. An integer score from 0 to 71 is computed based on several measurements; higher scores correspond to more severe disease and a higher risk of death. In practice, it is rare for any participant to accumulate more than 55 points. APACHE II score was measured on Day 15 or on the day of discharge (whichever was earlier). Participants who died on Day 15 or earlier were assigned the highest observed APACHE II score of any of the participants at any time during the trial (worst case imputation for deaths). Missing data values of the parameters required for the derivation of the APACHE II score were replaced by the last available assessment.	up to Day 15

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Serum C-reactive Protein (CRP) Levels	C-reactive protein (CRP) is a blood test marker for inflammation in the body. It was analyzed on a log-scale fitting a repeated measures mixed model: treatment, visit, stratification factors, visit * treatment and visit * stratification factors as fixed effects and log-transformed baseline score and visit * log-transformed baseline score as continuous covariate. Values reported were back-transformed to original scale.	Baseline, days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15
Ferritin Levels	Ferritin is a blood test marker for inflammation in the body. For a standard ferritin test, a normal reading is less than 300 micrograms per liter (μg/L). It was analyzed on a log-scale fitting a repeated measures mixed model: treatment, visit, stratification factors, visit * treatment and visit * stratification factors as fixed effects and log-transformed baseline score and visit * log-transformed baseline score as continuous covariate. Values reported were back-transformed to original scale.	Baseline, days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15
Number of Participants Not Requiring Mechanical Ventilation for Survival	Number of participants not requiring mechanical ventilation for survival until Day 15 and Day 29: defined by WHO 9-point ordinal scale score of < 6 points at all time points assessments. The scoring is - Uninfected patients have a score 0. - Ambulatory patients can have a score 1 (no limitation of activities) or 2 (limitation of activities). - Hospitalized patients with mild disease can have score 3 (no oxygen therapy) or 4 (oxygen by mask or nasal prongs). - Hospitalized patients with severe disease can have score 5 (non-invasive ventilation or high-flow oxygen), 6 (intubation and mechanical ventilation) or 7 (ventilation + additional organ support). - Patients who die have a score 8. Missing data values were handled as follows: For participants who died prior to Day 29, the score for death was imputed for all following visits up to and including Day 29. For all the other participants, last observation carried forward was applied up to and including Day 29.	Until Day 15 (Assessments on Days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15) and until Day 29 (Additional assessments on Days 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29)
Number of Participants With at Least One-point Improvement From Baseline in Clinical Status	Number of participants with at least one-point improvement from baseline in clinical status, which was measured with WHO 9-point ordinal scale. The scoring is - Uninfected patients have a score 0. - Ambulatory patients can have a score 1 (no limitation of activities) or 2 (limitation of activities). - Hospitalized patients with mild disease can have score 3 (no oxygen therapy) or 4 (oxygen by mask or nasal prongs). - Hospitalized patients with severe disease can have score 5 (non-invasive ventilation or high-flow oxygen), 6 (intubation and mechanical ventilation) or 7 (ventilation + additional organ support). - Patients who die have a score 8. Missing data values were handled as follows: For participants who died prior to Day 29, the score for death was imputed for all following visits up to and including Day 29. For all the other participants, last observation carried forward was applied up to and including Day 29.	Baseline, Day 15 and Day 29
Clinical Status Over Time	Clinical status was measured with World Health Organization (WHO) 9-point ordinal scale. The scoring is - Uninfected patients have a score 0. - Ambulatory patients can have a score 1 (no limitation of activities) or 2 (limitation of activities). - Hospitalized patients with mild disease can have score 3 (no oxygen therapy) or 4 (oxygen by mask or nasal prongs). - Hospitalized patients with severe disease can have score 5 (non-invasive ventilation or high-flow oxygen), 6 (intubation and mechanical ventilation) or 7 (ventilation + additional organ support - pressors, renal replacement therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). - Patients who die have a score 8. Missing data values were handled as follows: For participants who died prior to Day 127, the score for death was imputed for all following visits up to and including Day 127. For all the other participants, last observation carried forward was applied up to and including Day 127.	Baseline, days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 45 and 127

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Kreuzberger N, Hirsch C, Chai KL, Tomlinson E, Khosravi Z, Popp M, Neidhardt M, Piechotta V, Salomon S, Valk SJ, Monsef I, Schmaderer C, Wood EM, So-Osman C, Roberts DJ, McQuilten Z, Estcourt LJ, Skoetz N. SARS-CoV-2-neutralising monoclonal antibodies for treatment of COVID-19. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Sep 2;9(9):CD013825. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013825.pub2.

Helpful Links

• A Plain Language Trial Summary is available on novctrd.com

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 11, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 6, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): April 21, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 8, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 8, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): May 11, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 10, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2022
• Last Verified: August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-Cov2; pneumonia; inflammasome; APACHE II; MAS825
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Respiration Disorders; Pneumonia, Viral; Lung Diseases; COVID-19; Respiratory Insufficiency; Pneumonia
• Other Study ID Numbers: CMAS825F12201

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Yes

IPD Plan Description

Novartis is committed to sharing with qualified external researchers, access to patient-level data and supporting clinical documents from eligible studies. These requests are reviewed and approved by an independent review panel on the basis of scientific merit. All data provided is anonymized to respect the privacy of patients who have participated in the trial in line with applicable laws and regulations.

This trial data availability is according to the criteria and process described on www.clinicalstudydatarequest.com.

Drug and device information, study documents

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