COVID-19 Vaccine Response in Treated MS Patients

January 23, 2024 updated by: Tanuja Chitnis, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Immune Response to SARS-CoV2 Vaccinations in Treated MS Patients Compared to Controls

The primary goal of this study is to assess the impact of the two major disease modifying therapy (DMT) classes (B cell therapies and S1P modulators) on humoral and cell-mediated immunity to SARS- CoV-2 vaccination compared to non-MS controls. We have chosen to compare DMT-treated MS patients to non-MS controls because the pivotal vaccine studies were conducted in non-MS healthy control groups in which there is significant clinical data and validated assays for antibody responses.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects approximately 1 million persons in the United States and is the leading cause of disability in young adults. Disease modifying treatments for MS act through modulation or suppression of immune responses including B and T cell responses. Two major classes of drugs used to treat MS are 1) B cell antibodies, including Kesimpta (ofatumumab) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and 2) S1P (sphingosine-1-phosphate) modulators including Gilenya (fingolimod) and Mayzent (siponimod). SARS-CoV2 is a potentially fatal novel coronavirus, which has claimed over 350,000 lives in the United States. The causative agent of COVID-19 disease, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) utilizes the angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) to target cells in the lower airway.(1, 2) Symptoms of COVID-19 infection can cause pneumonia with primarily lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrates.(3) Most people (approximately 81%) experience mild upper respiratory tract infection or mild pneumonia, while approximately 15-20% of cases experience severe or critical disease characterized by dyspnea, lung infiltrates, respiratory failure and multiple organ dysfunction.(4) The case- fatality rate ranges from 0.7-5.8%. SARS-CoV2 vaccines have just been FDA approved, including the Moderna® and Pfizer-BioNTech® vaccines which contain lipid nanoparticle- formulated nucleoside-modified mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) that encodes the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.(5, 6) Prior work suggests that vaccine responses may be blunted in patients treated with these two drug classes, however there is currently no controlled data on the efficacy and durability of SARS-CoV2 vaccine responses in treated MS patients. Current data is limited to uncontrolled case reports.

Robust studies are needed to inform the efficacy of SARS-CoV2 vaccines in MS patients on DMTs, which will guide infection risk management.

The primary goal of this study is to assess the impact of the two major DMT classes (B cell therapies and S1P modulators) on humoral and cell-mediated immunity to SARS- CoV-2 vaccination compared to non-MS controls. We have chosen to compare DMT-treated MS patients to non-MS controls because the pivotal vaccine studies were conducted in non-MS healthy control groups in which there is significant clinical data and validated assays for antibody responses.

The primary endpoint of this study is to compare the percentage of MS patients on immunotherapy with a positive SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibody response (positive seroconversion) compared to the percentage of controls who seroconvert at 5-6 months post vaccination.

Secondary endpoints of this study are:

  • Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibody % seroconversion and titers in MS patients on immunotherapy to titers in controls at 2-3 months and 11-12 months post vaccination.
  • Comparison of T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in MS patients on immunotherapy to titers in controls at 5-6 months post vaccination.
  • Comparison of antibody titers and T cell responses between the four groups of immunotherapies evaluated and to controls at each of the three timepoints.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

159

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Brigham MS Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

For this study, we will prospectively collect data and biospecimens from MS patients and healthy volunteers. MS patients will largely be recruited from the Brigham MS Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston MA US). Healthy volunteers will be recruited from the community surrounding BWH and through IRB-approved recruitment advertisements. The Brigham MS Center sees 2500 patients annually and is adjacent to an ongoing COVID vaccine clinic.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

For MS Patients:

  1. Diagnosis of MS
  2. Treatment with one of the four DMTs (Kesimpta (ofatumumab), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), Gilenya (fingolimod), Mayzent (siponimod)) for at least 3 months prior to first SARS-CoV2 vaccine dose
  3. SARS-CoV2 vaccine regimen complete within the past 2-3 or 5-6 months (either Moderna® or Pfizer-BioNTech® mRNA vaccines)
  4. Age 18-65, inclusive

For Health Controls:

1. Age 18-65, inclusive

Exclusion Criteria:

For MS Patients:

1. Prior known COVID-19 infection

For Health Controls:

  1. Prior known COVID-19 infection
  2. major autoimmune disorders or current treatment with immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory drugs

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
MS Kesimpta (ofatumumab)
MS patients treated with Kesimpta (ofatumumab) for at least 3 months prior to SARS-CoV2 vaccination (completed regimen) Drug administration n/a, following routine clinical care Blood draws at 2-3 months, 5-6 months, and 11-12 months after enrollment
Other: Blood draw
Approximately 120 mL whole blood will be collected from each subject at each timepoint
MS Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)
MS patients treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for at least 3 months prior to SARS-CoV2 vaccination (completed regimen) Drug administration n/a, following routine clinical care Blood draws at 2-3 months, 5-6 months, and 11-12 months after enrollment
Other: Blood draw
Approximately 120 mL whole blood will be collected from each subject at each timepoint
MS Gilenya (fingolimod) and Mayzent (siponimod)
MS patients treated with Gilenya (fingolimod) or Mayzent (siponimod) for at least 3 months prior to SARS-CoV2 vaccination (completed regimen) Drug administration n/a, following routine clinical care Blood draws at 2-3 months, 5-6 months, and 11-12 months after enrollment
Other: Blood draw
Approximately 120 mL whole blood will be collected from each subject at each timepoint
Healthy Control
Individuals with major autoimmune disorders or current treatment with immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory drugs Received SARS-CoV2 vaccination (completed regimen) within 2-6 months of enrollment Blood draws at 2-3 months, 5-6 months, and 11-12 months after enrollment
Other: Blood draw
Approximately 120 mL whole blood will be collected from each subject at each timepoint

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Primary endpoint
Time Frame: 11-12 months
Compare the percentage of MS patients on immunotherapy with a positive SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibody response, using the Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S immunoassay for the quantitative, in vitro determination of antibodies to SARS-CoV- 2 in human serum and plasma. It is an Electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) test using a double-antigen sandwich assay. A positive seroconversion defined as level>0.4U/ml.
11-12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Secondary endpoint 1
Time Frame: 11-12 months
Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibody % seroconversion and titers in MS patients on immunotherapy to titers in controls at 2-3 months and 11-12 months post vaccination. This will be measured as a percentage.
11-12 months
Secondary endpoint 2
Time Frame: 5-6 months
Comparison of percentage of IFN-gamma positive CD4+ T cells measured by flow cytometry reactive to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in MS patients on immunotherapy to titers in controls at 5-6 months post vaccination.
5-6 months
Secondary endpoint 3
Time Frame: 11-12 months
Comparison of antibody titers and percentage of IFN-gamma positive CD4+ T cells reactive to SARS-CoV-2 measured by flow cytometry between the four groups of immunotherapies evaluated and to controls at each of the three timepoints 2-3, 5-6, and 11-12 months.
11-12 months
Secondary endpoint 4
Time Frame: 11-12 months
Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibody seroconversion and levels in MS patients on immunotherapy after 2 vaccine doses versus 3 or more vaccine doses, as measured by Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S immunoassay, with a positive seroconversion defined as >0.4U/ml.
11-12 months
Secondary endpoint 5
Time Frame: 11-12 months
Comparison of percentage SARS-CoV-2 reactive IFN-gamma positive CD4+ T cells measured by flow cytometry in MS patients on immunotherapy after 2 vaccine doses versus 3 or more vaccine doses.
11-12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 1, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 15, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

September 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 27, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 27, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

September 29, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

January 25, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 23, 2024

Last Verified

January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • COMB157GUS19T

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

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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