Sequential Regimen of Bendamustine Followed by Obinutuzumab (GA101), Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) and Venetoclax (ABT-199) in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory CLL (CLL2-BZAG)

A Prospective, Open-label, Multicenter Phase-II Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a Sequential Regimen of Bendamustine Followed by Obinutuzumab (GA101), Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) and Venetoclax (ABT-199) in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory CLL (CLL2-BZAG Protocol)

CLL2-BZAG is a prospective, open-label, multicenter phase-II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a sequential regimen of bendamustine followed by obinutuzumab (GA101), zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) and venetoclax (ABT-199) in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Bendamustine; Biological: Obinutuzumab; Biological: Venetoclax; Biological: Zanubrutinib

Detailed Description

In the CLL2-BZAG trial will be included a total of 40 patients with relapsed or refractory CLL in need of treatment. This trial will evaluate a debulking with two cycles bendamustine (only for patients with a high tumor load), followed by an induction and maintenance treatment with obinutuzumab, zanubrutinib and venetoclax in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL. Thus, this trial combines one established (chemotherapy) and three novel, synergistic (antibody, Bruton's tyrosine kinase(BTK)-inhibitor and Bcl-2 antagonist) principles of action in order to achieve deep and long lasting remissions with a short duration of treatment. Additionally, this trial has an extensive accompanying scientific program aiming at a better understanding of the kinetics of response and clonal evolution of CLL.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 42
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Augsburg, Germany, 86150
    • Hamatologische/Onkologische Gemeinschaftspraxis
  • Esslingen, Germany, 73728
    • Onkologische Schwerpunktpraxis
  • Hamm, Germany, 59063
    • Evangelische Krankenhaus Hamm
  • Homburg, Germany, 66424
    • Universitaetskliniken des Saarlandes
  • Kiel, Germany, 24105
    • Universitaetsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel
  • Köln, Germany, 50937
    • Universitätsklinik Köln
  • Munich, Germany, 81675
    • Klinikum Rechts der Isar - Technische Universitaet Muenchen
  • Mutlangen, Germany, 73557
    • Stauferklinikum Schwaebisch-Gmuend
  • Mönchengladbach, Germany, 41063
    • KH Kliniken Maria Hilf
  • Ulm, Germany, 89081
    • Universitätsklinik Ulm
  • Würzburg, Germany, 97080
    • Hämatologisch Onkologische Schwerpunktpraxis

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Relapsed/refractory CLL in need of treatment according to International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iwCLL) criteria

   In case of a recent previous treatment, patients must have recovered from acute toxicities and treatment regimen must be stopped within the following time periods before start of the study treatment in the CLL2-BZAG trial:

   • chemotherapy ≥ 28 days
   • antibody treatment ≥ 14 days
   • kinase inhibitors, BCL2-antagonists or immunomodulatory agents ≥ 3 days
   • corticosteroids may be applied until the start of the BZAG-regimen, these have to be reduced to an equivalent of ≤ 20mg prednisolone per day during treatment Please note: Patients with a progression during previous treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib or another BTK inhibitor, as well as patients with a known resistance mutation (e.g. BTK-/PLCg2) are excluded from study participation. However, patients who progressed after termination of treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib, other BTK inhibitors and/or obinutuzumab or who stopped treatment due to intolerance to ibrutinib are eligible for participation.
2. Adequate renal function, as indicated by a creatinine clearance ≥30ml/min calculated according to the modified formula of Cockcroft and Gault or directly measured with 24 hr. urine collection
3. Adequate hematologic function as indicated by a neutrophil count ≥ 1.0 x 109/L, a hemoglobin value ≥8.0 g/dL and a platelet count ≥ 25 x 109/L, unless directly attributable to the patient´s CLL (e.g. bone marrow infiltration), in this case, platelet count should be ≥ 10 × 109/L.
4. Adequate liver function as indicated by a total bilirubin ≤2x, AST/ALT ≤2.5x the institutional ULN value, unless directly attributable to the patient's CLL or to Gilbert's Syndrome
5. Negative serological testing for hepatitis B (HBsAg negative and anti-HBc negative, patients positive for anti-HBc may be included if PCR for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) DNA is negative and HBV-DNA PCR is performed every 4 weeks until one year after last dosage of GA101 (obinutuzumab) or until the last dose of zanubrutinib, whichever occurs later), negative testing for hepatitis-C RNA and negative HIV test within 6 weeks prior to registration
6. Age ≥ 18 years
7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG) 0 - 2, ECOG 3 is only permitted if related to CLL (e.g. due to anemia or severe constitutional symptoms)
8. Life expectancy ≥ 6 months
9. Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent and to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

1. (Suspicion of) transformation of CLL (i.e. Richter's transformation, pro-lymphocytic leukemia) or central nervous system (CNS) involvement
2. Progression during previous treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib or another BTK inhibitor, and/or presence of known mutations associated with resistance to therapy, e.g. Bruton´s Tyrosine Kinase and Phospholipase C Gamma 2 (PLCg2)
3. Confirmed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
4. Malignancies other than CLL currently requiring systemic therapies
5. Uncontrolled infection requiring systemic treatment
6. Any comorbidity or organ system impairment rated with a Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) score of 4, excluding the eyes/ears/nose/throat/larynx organ system or any other life-threatening illness, medical condition or organ system dysfunction that - in the investigator´s opinion - could compromise the patients safety or interfere with the absorption or metabolism of the study drugs (e.g, inability to swallow tablets or impaired resorption in the gastrointestinal tract)
7. Significantly increased risk of bleeding according to the investigator´s evaluation, e.g. due known bleeding diathesis (e.g. von-Willebrandt´s disease or hemophilia), major surgical procedure ≤ 4 weeks or stroke/intracranial hemorrhage ≤ 6 months.
8. Requirement of therapy with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors/inducers or anticoagulant with phenprocoumon (marcumar) or other vitamin K-antagonists
9. Use of investigational agents ≤ 28 days prior to start of study treatment, however, kinase inhibitors, BCL2-antagonists and antibody treatment are allowed in accordance with inclusion criterion number 1 (see above).
10. Known hypersensitivity to obinutuzumab (GA101), venetoclax (ABT-199), zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) or any of the excipients Please note: Patients with a known hypersensitivity to bendamustine are allowed to participate but will not receive a debulking with bendamustine
11. Pregnant women and nursing mothers (a negative pregnancy test is required for all women of childbearing potential within 7 days before start of treatment)

12. Fertile men or women of childbearing potential unless:

    • surgically sterile or ≥ 2 years after the onset of menopause, or
    • willing to use two methods of reliable contraception including one highly effective (Pearl Index <1) and one additional effective (barrier) method during study treatment and for 18 months after end of study treatment.
13. Vaccination with a live vaccine ≤ 28 days prior to registration
14. Legal incapacity
15. Prisoners or subjects who are institutionalized by regulatory or court order
16. Persons who are in dependence to the sponsor or an investigator

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: BZAG; Debulking: 2 debulking cycles (q 28d) of bendamustine will be administered unless the patient has a contraindication or a debulking is not clinically indicated Induction: 6 cycles (q 28d) of Obinutuzumab + Zanubrutinib + Venetoclax Maintenance: max. 8 cycles (q 84d) of Obinutuzumab + Zanubrutinib + Venetoclax Maintenance treatment will be continued until (whichever occurs first): 12 weeks (approx. 3 months) after confirmation of achievement of a CR/CRi and MRD negativity; maintenance cycle 8; progression of CLL or start of a subsequent therapy unacceptable toxicity

Drug: Bendamustine; Debulking: Cycles 1-2: d1+2 - 70mg/m² i.v.; Other Names: Treanda; Bendeka; Biological: Obinutuzumab; Induction: Cycle 1: d1 - 100 mg, d1 (or d2) - 900 mg, d8 + d15 - 1000 mg i.v.; Cycle 2 - 6: 1000 mg, d1 i.v. Maintenance: Cycle 1 - 8: 1000 mg, d1 i.v.; Other Names: GA101; Gazyvaro; Biological: Venetoclax; Induction: Cycles 1 + 2: --; Cycle 3: d1-7: 20mg, d8-14: 50mg, d15-21: 100mg, d22-28: 200mg p.o.; Cycle 4 - 6: d1-28: 400 mg p.o. Maintenance: Cycle 1 - 8: d1-84: 400 mg p.o.; Other Names: ABT-199; Venclyxto; Biological: Zanubrutinib; Induction: Cycle 1: --; Cycles 2 - 6: d1-28: 2 x 160mg p.o. Maintenance: Cycle 1 - 8: d1-84: 2 x 160mg p.o; Other Names: BGB-3111

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Negativity rate of minimal residual disease (MRD) in peripheral blood (PB) measured by multi-color flow cytometry	MRD negativity is defined as less than one (1) CLL-cell among 10,000 leukocytes analyzed [0.01%]. The MRD negativity rate is defined as the proportion of patients having achieved MRD negativity based on the full analysis set (FAS).	At final restaging (RE): 12 weeks after the start of the last induction cycle

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall response rate (ORR)	Proportion of patients having achieved a complete response (CR), a CR with incomplete recovery of the bone marrow (CRi), or a partial response (PR) as best response.	At final restaging (RE): 12 weeks after the start of the last induction cycle
CR / CRi rate	Proportion of patients having achieved a CR or CRi as best response (= number of patients with best response CR or CRi divided by the number of the FAS)	At final restaging (RE): 12 weeks after the start of the last induction cycle
MRD in PB measured by 4-color flow cytometry at different times to guide the duration of maintenance therapy and for the assessment of the kinetics of response to the different treatment phases	MRD negativity is defined as less than one (1) CLL-cell among 10,000 leukocytes analyzed [0.01%], i.e. < 10-4. MRD values will be categorized into negative (<10-4) and positive (≥10-4)	From date of screening until the end of follow-up, up to 55 month
Safety: Adverse events (AE), serious adverse events (SAE) and adverse events of particular/special interest (AEPI/AESI)	Type, frequency, severity and relationship to study treatment.of AEs, SAEs and AEPIs/AESIs	Up to 55 months after first dose of study drug

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: German CLL Study Group
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Paula Cramer, Dr. med., German CLL Study Group

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Click here for more information about this study: CLL2-BZAG (German CLL Study Group)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 13, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 13, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): August 17, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 22, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: CLL
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Lymphatic Diseases; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Disease Attributes; Hematologic Diseases; Leukemia; Leukemia, B-Cell; Chronic Disease; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Leukemia, Lymphoid; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; Alkylating Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors; Venetoclax; Bendamustine Hydrochloride; Obinutuzumab; Zanubrutinib
• Other Study ID Numbers: CLL2-BZAG; 2018-003270-27 (EudraCT Number)

Drug and device information, study documents

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