Leronlimab (PRO 140) in Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

A Phase II, Multi-center, Two-Part, Three-Arm, Dose-Ranging Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Leronlimab (PRO 140) in Adult Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

This is a phase II study of of Leronlimab (PRO 140)-Humanized monoclonal antibody to CCR5 in patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: leronlimab 700 mg; Drug: leronlimab 350 mg; Drug: Placebo

Detailed Description

This is an exploratory phase II, multi-center, two-part study (Part 1: randomized, placebo-controlled, two-arm with 60 patients; Part 2: non-randomized, single-arm, open-label with 30 patients) designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of leronlimab after subcutaneous (SC) administration in patients with NASH for 13 weeks.

A Follow Up visit was conducted 28 (± 3) days after receiving the last study treatment (i.e., after last dose of Leronlimab (PRO 140) or placebo.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 87
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Coronado, California, United States, 92118
      • Southern California Research Center
  • Florida
    • Maitland, Florida, United States, 32751
      • Meridien Research
    • Miami Lakes, Florida, United States, 33016
      • Floridian Clinical Research
    • Ocoee, Florida, United States, 34761
      • Sensible Healthcare, LLC
  • Georgia
    • Gainesville, Georgia, United States, 30501
      • Center for Advanced Research & Education
  • Texas
    • Forney, Texas, United States, 75126
      • Care United Research LLC
    • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78215
      • American Research Corporation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Subjects are required to meet ALL of the following criteria for enrollment into the study:

1. Subject is a male or female between 18 to 75 years of age inclusive.

2. Evidence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) based on one of the following criteria:

   • Criteria 1: Histologically-confirmed diagnosis of NASH on a liver biopsy, or
   • Criteria 2: FibroScan or Shearwave US during screening (or within 6 months before screening) shows kPa ≥7 but <14 and CAP ≥260.
3. Subject shows presence of hepatic fat fraction as defined by ≥ 8% on MRI-PDFF and cT1 ≥ 800 ms at Screening.
4. Has had a stable body weight (±5%) within 6 months prior to Screening.
5. Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 28 kg/m2 at Screening
6. Has clinically normal resting 12-lead ECG at Screening Visit or, if abnormal, considered not clinically significant by the Principal Investigator.

7. Laboratory Screening results as indicated below:

   1. AST:ALT Ratio ≤ 1, if AST or ALT value is > ULN
   2. Screening Liver enzymes (AST, ALT, and ALK PHOS) < 5 x ULN.
   3. Total Bilirubin ≤ 1.3 mg/dL (except if Gilbert's Disease)
   4. Platelet count ≥ 150,000/mm3
   5. International normalized ratio (INR) < 1.3
   6. Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) ≥ 60/mL/min
   7. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 9%.
   8. Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) within normal reference range. Note: Any subject with a non-clinically significant TSH value outside of the normal range may be enrolled if their T3 and free T4 values are within the normal range.

8. Subjects with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes will be allowed to participate if the following criteria is met:

   • Subjects who are taking anti-diabetic medications should be on a stable dose for a period of at least 3 months prior to Screening and do not anticipate clinically significant dose adjustments during the course of study.
   • Subjects must be on a stable diet/lifestyle regimen for at least 3 months prior to screening and do not anticipate a clinically significant change during the course of study.
9. Subjects who are taking Vitamin E should be on a stable dose of Vitamin E (if ≥ 400 IU) for a period of at least 4 weeks prior to Screening and do not anticipate dose adjustments for the duration of the study.
10. Both male and female patients and their partners of childbearing potential must agree to use two medically accepted methods of contraception (e.g., barrier contraceptives [male condom, female condom, or diaphragm with a spermicidal gel], hormonal contraceptives [implants, injectables, combination oral contraceptives, transdermal patches, or contraceptive rings], or one of the following methods of birth control (intrauterine devices, tubal sterilization or vasectomy) or must practice complete abstinence from intercourse of reproductive potential from study entry to 6 months after the last day of treatment (excluding women who are not of childbearing potential and men who have been sterilized).
11. Females of child-bearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test at Screening Visit and negative urine pregnancy test prior to receiving the first dose of study drug; and Male participants must agree to use contraception and refrain from donating sperm for at least 90 days after the last dose of study intervention.
12. Subject is willing and able to give informed consent prior to any study specific procedures being performed.
13. Subject is willing and able to comply with scheduled visits, drug administration plan, laboratory tests, other study procedures and study restrictions

Exclusion Criteria: Subjects meeting ANY of the following criteria will be excluded from enrollment:

1. Any concurrent clinically significant liver disease with an etiology other than NASH including autoimmune hepatitis, alcoholic hepatitis, hypoxic/ischemic hepatopathy, and biliary tract disease.

2. History of alcohol consumption greater than 21/units/week (for males) and 14/units/week (for females) within the last 2 years prior to screening.

   Note: Use of online unit calculator for alcohol consumption is recommended (e.g., https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/unit-calculator)

3. Any drug-induced steatohepatitis secondary to amiodarone, corticosteroids, estrogens, methotrexate, tetracycline, or other medications known to cause hepatic steatosis.
4. Undergone major surgery, including liver surgery, within 6 months prior to screening deemed clinically significant by the investigator.
5. Prior or pending liver transplantation.
6. History or presence of cirrhosis or stage 4 fibrosis in historical liver biopsy and/or hepatic decompensation including ascites, hepatic encephalopathy or variceal bleeding.
7. Active hepatitis B (defined as having a positive hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] test), hepatitis C (defined as having a positive Anti-HCV test with detectable reflex HCV RNA; Note: Subject with positive Anti-HCV test and with undetectable HCV RNA would not be excluded), acute hepatitis A (defined as subjects with serum positive for hepatitis A IgM (HAV) antibody) or acute hepatitis E (defined as having anti-HEV IgM antibody).
8. Any active infection requiring systemic therapy at the time of screening, which is considered clinically significant per the Investigator.
9. Positive test for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or HIV infection.
10. History of bleeding diathesis within 6 months of screening.
11. Any malignancy within the past 5 years, excluding successfully treated basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma without evidence of metastases.
12. Seizure disorder requiring ongoing antiseizure therapy or with any condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, is likely to increase the risk of seizure (e.g. CNS malignancy)
13. Clinically significant active cardiac disease which would interfere with study conduct or study results interpretation per the PI.
14. Any known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial.
15. Prior therapy with Leronlimab or any other CCR5 antagonist (e.g. maraviroc) within 6 months prior to screening.
16. History of severe allergic, anaphylactic, or other hypersensitivity reactions to humanized monoclonal antibodies.

17. Any condition requiring continuous systemic treatment with immunosuppressive (such as corticosteroids) or immunomodulatory medications.

    Note: Inhaled or topical steroids of up to 5 mg daily prednisone equivalent dose are permitted in the bsence of active autoimmune disease.

18. History of administration of a live, attenuated vaccine within four weeks prior to start of PRO 140 treatment or anticipation that such a live attenuated vaccine will be required during the remainder of the study.

    Note: Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally inactivated flu vaccines and are allowed. However intranasal influenza vaccines (e.g., Flu-Mist ®) are live attenuated vaccines, and are not allowed.

19. Currently participating in an investigational study or received an investigational drug within 28 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer) prior to study drug administration

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Leronlimab 700 mg; Leronlimab 700 mg SC weekly injection	Drug: leronlimab 700 mg; 700 mg leronlimab will be administered subcutaneously every week for 13 weeks.; Other Names: PRO 140
Experimental: Leronlimab 350 mg; Leronlimab 350 mg SC weekly injection	Drug: leronlimab 350 mg; 350 mg leronlimab will be administered subcutaneously every week for 13 weeks.; Other Names: PRO 140
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Placebo SC weekly injection	Drug: Placebo; Placebo will be administered subcutaneously every week for 13 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
MRI-PDFF Change From Baseline to Week 14	Change in hepatic fat fraction from baseline assessed by magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) at week 14	Change from baseline (day one, first day of treatment) to EOT (day 92, 13 weeks of treatment)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
MRI-cT1 Change From Baseline to Week 14	MRI corrected T1 (cT1) is emerging as a promising quantitative surrogate metric for assessing a composite of liver inflammation and fibrosis.	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
Alkaline Phosphatase	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Alkaline Phosphatase	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
Alanine Aminotraferase (ALT)	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Alanine Aminotraferase (ALT)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at day 92
Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST)	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
GGT S	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Gamma Glutamyl transferase, GGT S	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
Neutrophils/Leukocytes	Change in Neutrophils/Leukocytes ratio from Baseline to Week 14	Measured at baseline (day 1, start of treatment) and at EOT (day 92)
CCL2	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Monocyte Chemotactic Protein 1 (CCL2)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
CCL3	Change from Baseline (day 1, start of treatment) to Week 14 (EOT) in Macrophage Inflammatory Protein 1 Alpha	Measured at baseline (day 1, start of treatment) and at EOT (day 92)
CCL5 (Rantes)	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in CCL-5 (Rantes)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
Fibro Test Score	Change from baseline (day 1, start of treatment) to Week 14 (EOT) in Fibro Test Score measured on a scale of 0 to 1, where 0 to 0.27 is no fibrosis, 0.27 to 0.48 is minimal fibrosis, 0.48 to 0.58 is moderate fibrosis, 0.58 to 0.74 is advanced fibrosis and 0.74 to 1.00 is severe fibrosis (Cirrhosis). Minimum score is zero, maximum score (worst outcome) is 1.	Measured at baseline (day 1, start of treatment) and at EOT (day 92)
CCL11( Eotaxin-1)	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Eosinophils Chemotactic Protein	Measured at baseline (day 1, start of treatment) and at EOT (day 92)
CCL18	Change from Baseline to week 14 in CCL18 (Pulmonary & Activation-Reg Chemokine)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
VCAM	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
Interleukin-1 Beta	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Interleukin-1 Beta	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
IL-1RA	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
IL-6	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Interleukin 6	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
IL-8	Change from Baseline to Week 14 in Interleukin 8	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
TNF Receptor 2	Change from baseline (day 1, start of treatment) to Week 14 (EOT) in Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 2	Measured at baseline (day 1, start of treatment) and at EOT (day 92)
TIMP-1	Change from Baseline (day 1, start of treatment) to Week 14 (EOT) in Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases 1 (ng/mL)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)
En Rage	Change from baseline (start of treatment, day 1) to Week 14 (EOT) in En Rage (Receptor Advanced Glycation End-Products)	Measured at baseline (day 1) and at EOT (day 92)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline in Alanine transaminase (ALT) at week 14	Exploratory outcome	at week 14
Change from baseline in Aspartate transaminase (AST) at week 14	Exploratory Outcome	at week 14
Change from baseline in total bilirubin at week 14	Exploratory Outcome	at week 14
Change from baseline in triglycerides at week 14	Exploratory Outcome	at week 14
Change from baseline in Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) at week 14	Exploratory Outcome	at week 14

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: CytoDyn, Inc.
• Collaborators: Amarex Clinical Research

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Munteanu M, Tiniakos D, Anstee Q, Charlotte F, Marchesini G, Bugianesi E, Trauner M, Romero Gomez M, Oliveira C, Day C, Dufour JF, Bellentani S, Ngo Y, Traussnig S, Perazzo H, Deckmyn O, Bedossa P, Ratziu V, Poynard T; FLIP Consortium and the FibroFrance Group. Diagnostic performance of FibroTest, SteatoTest and ActiTest in patients with NAFLD using the SAF score as histological reference. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Oct;44(8):877-89. doi: 10.1111/apt.13770. Epub 2016 Aug 23.

Helpful Links

• Diagnostic performance of FibroTest

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 29, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 29, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): August 20, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 1, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 31, 2023
• Last Verified: January 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: NASH; PRO 140; Leronlimab
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Liver Diseases; Fatty Liver; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiviral Agents; Anti-HIV Agents; Anti-Retroviral Agents; Immunologic Factors; HIV Fusion Inhibitors; Viral Fusion Protein Inhibitors; Leronlimab; HIV Antibodies
• Other Study ID Numbers: CDI-NASH-01

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