Efficacy and Tolerability of Adjunct Metformin for Multibacillary Leprosy (MetLep)

Efficacy and Tolerability of Adjunct Metformin in Combination With Multidrug Treatment for Multibacillary Leprosy: A Randomized Double-blind, Controlled Proof-of-Concept Phase 2 Trial in Indonesia

This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability and safety of adjunct metformin added to standard-of-care multi-drug therapy (MDT) in patients with multibacillary leprosy, and explore its effects on immunological endpoints. A double-blind, placebo controlled proof-of-concept trial will be performed in which patients with newly diagnosed multibacillary leprosy will be randomized (1:1) to metformin 1000mg OD versus placebo for 24 weeks in addition to MDT during 48 weeks.

The main research question is whether adjunctive metformin, combined with MDT, will improve the clinical outcomes of patients with multibacillary leprosy by mitigating leprosy reactions, thereby reducing nerve damage and corticosteroid use and its associated morbidity. The second aim is to explore whether adjunct metformin, added to MDT, has an acceptable tolerability and safety in patients with multibacillary leprosy.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Leprosy; Leprosy, Multibacillary; Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Metformin; Drug: Placebo

Detailed Description

A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized proof-of-concept Phase 2 trial will be performed evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of adjunct metformin combined with standard of care MDT to mitigate leprosy reactions. Patients with newly diagnosed multibacillary leprosy will be randomized (1:1) to metformin 1000mg OD versus placebo for 24 weeks in addition to MDT during 48 weeks. The trial aims to enroll 166 patients, aged between 18-65 years old, in leprosy endemic areas in Indonesia. Primary endpoints are the proportion of participants experiencing a leprosy reaction during the full duration of the study and the proportion of participants with at least one adverse event within the first 28 weeks of the study. Secondary endpoints are the severity and time to first leprosy reaction, the number of leprosy reactions, the cumulative corticosteroid usage, and quality of life. The total study follow-up is 48 weeks.

This METLEP trial is financially supported by the Leprosy Research Initiative (grant number: FP20\4).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 166
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Marlous Grijsen, MD, PhD; Phone Number: 62-21-23599099; Email: mgrijsen@oucru.org
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Mutia Rahardjani, MD, MSc; Phone Number: 62-21-23599099; Email: mrahardjani@oucru.org

Study Locations

• Indonesia
  • Banten
    • Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia, 15121
      • Recruiting
      • Sitanala Leprosy Hospital
      • Contact: Nandya A Mulyadi, MD; Phone Number: +622123599099; Email: nmulyadi@oucru.org
      • Contact: Prima K Esti, MD, MEpid; Phone Number: +628128187632; Email: prima_kartika@yahoo.com
      • Principal Investigator: Prima K Esti, MD
  • Papua
    • Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia
      • Recruiting
      • Abe Pantai Community Health Center
      • Contact: Nadya A Mulyadi, MD; Phone Number: +622123599099; Email: nmulyadi@oucru.org
      • Contact: Hana Krismawati, MSc; Phone Number: +6282399399799; Email: hkrismawati@gmail.com
      • Principal Investigator: Hana Krismawati, MSc
    • Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia
      • Recruiting
      • Jayapura Utara Community Health Center
      • Contact: Nandya A Mulyadi, MD; Phone Number: +622123599099; Email: nmulyadi@oucru.org
      • Contact: Hana Krismawati, MSc; Phone Number: +6282399399799; Email: hkrismawati@gmail.com
      • Principal Investigator: Hana Krismawati, MSc
    • Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia
      • Withdrawn
      • Hamadi Community Health Center
  • Sulawesi Selatan
    • Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia, 92161
      • Recruiting
      • Palangga Health Center
      • Contact: Nandya A Mulyadi, MD; Phone Number: +622123599099; Email: nmulyadi@oucru.org
      • Contact: Sri Vitayani, MD, PhD; Phone Number: +6281341821336; Email: srivita711@gmail.com
      • Principal Investigator: Sri Vitayani, MD,PhD
    • Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia, 92211
      • Recruiting
      • Bajeng Health Center
      • Contact: Nandya A Mulyadi, MD; Phone Number: +622123599099; Email: nmulyadi@oucru.org
      • Contact: Sri Vitayani, MD, PhD; Phone Number: +6281341821336; Email: srivita711@gmail.com
      • Principal Investigator: Sri Vitayani, MD, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participant is a male or female, aged ≥18 and ≤65 years.
• Participant is newly diagnosed with MB leprosy and has been receiving MDT ≤ 28 days.
• Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the trial.
• Participant is willing to adhere to study follow-up schedule for 48 weeks.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participant has received MDT >28 days for the current episode of MB leprosy, prior to study enrolment.
• Presence of leprosy reaction and/or nerve function impairment requiring systemic corticosteroids on screening/enrolment evaluation.
• Participants who have been treated for leprosy in the past.
• Chronic systemic corticosteroid use for any other medical condition on screening evaluation (chronic use defined as ≥ 2 weeks).
• History of diabetes mellitus or diabetes mellitus diagnosed on screening evaluation (random blood glucose is elevated ≥200 mg/dL (or ≥11,1 mmol/L) or fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL (or ≥7.0 mmol/L)).
• History of hypoglycaemia (random blood glucose <55 mg/dL (or <3.0 mmol/L).
• History of cardiac failure, ischaemic heart disease, alcoholism, history of lactic acidosis or states associated with lactic acidosis such as shock or pulmonary insufficiency, and conditions associated with hypoxia.
• History of intolerance or hypersensitivity to metformin.
• Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≤30 mL/min/1.73m2 calculated by the CKDEPI equation.
• AST or ALT ≥3 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) on screening evaluation.
• Any serious medical condition for which participation in the trial, as judged by the investigator or treating physician, could compromise the well-being of the subject or prevent, limit or confound protocol-specified assessments.
• HIV-positive on screening evaluation.
• Female participant of childbearing age who is pregnant (clinically confirmed or urine dipstick for human chorionic gonadotrophin hormone) or breastfeeding.
• Use of metformin within 12 weeks prior to study enrolment.
• Use of other regular hypoglycaemic agents, including insulin.
• Participation in another research trial involving an investigational product within 12 weeks prior to study enrolment.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Metformin 1000mg extended release (XR) once daily + standard-of-care MDT; Metformin hydrochloride 500mg XR tablets once daily by mouth for 2 weeks, escalating to a target dose of 1000mg XR once daily for another 22 weeks. Each participant will receive the same number of tablets made up of metformin and placebo to maintain the blinding.	Drug: Metformin; Metformin 1000mg XR OD + standard-of-care MDT; Other Names: Glumin XR
Placebo Comparator: Placebo + MDT; Matching metformin placebo tablets once daily by mouth for 2 weeks, escalating to two tablets for another 22 weeks. Each participant will receive the same number of tablets made up of metformin and placebo to maintain the blinding.	Drug: Placebo; Placebo + standard-of-care MDT

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The proportion of participants experiencing a leprosy reaction	Proportion of participants experiencing a leprosy reaction during study follow-up	48 weeks
The proportion of participants with at least one adverse events	The proportion of participants with at least one adverse events within the first 28 weeks of the study	28 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The proportion of participants experiencing a Type 1 Reactions (T1R)	Proportion of participants experiencing a T1R at 12, 24 and 48 weeks.	12, 24 and 48 weeks
The proportion of participants experiencing a Type 2 Reactions (T2R)	Proportion of participants experiencing a T2 R at 12, 24 and 48 weeks.	12, 24 and 48 weeks
The time to the first leprosy reaction	Time to first leprosy reaction over the full 48 weeks.	48 weeks
The time to the first Type 1 Reactions (T1R)	Time to first T1R over the full 48 weeks.	48 weeks
The time to the first Tipe 2 Reaction (T2R)	Time to first T2R over the full 48 weeks.	48 weeks
The difference in the number of T1R episodes	The difference in the number of T1R episodes	48 weeks
The difference in the number of T2R episodes	The difference in the number of T2R episodes	48 weeks
The severity of T1R, based on investigator-assessed validated Clinical Severity Scores	The severity of T1R based on the Modified Type 1 Reactions Clinical Severity Scale. The score ranges from 0-48. A higher score means a worse outcome.	48 weeks
The severity of T2R, based on investigator-assessed validated Clinical Severity Scores	The severity of T2R based on the ENLIST ENL Severity Scale. The score ranges from 0-30. A higher score means a worse outcome.	48 weeks
The proportion of participants with at least one serious adverse event	The proportion of participants with at least one serious adverse event within the first 28 weeks of the trial.	28 weeks
Total number of adverse events	The total number of adverse events within the first 28 weeks of the trial.	28 weeks
The cumulative corticosteroid usage	Cumulative corticosteroid usage over the full 48 weeks.	48 weeks
The proportion of participants experiencing clinical nerve function impairment	Proportion of participants experiencing clinical nerve function impairment developed over the full duration of the study.	48 weeks
The difference in Quality of Life between start and end of treatment intervention, and end of study by means of SF-36 questionnaires	The difference in Quality of Life between start and end of treatment intervention, and end of study by means of the 36-Item short form survey instrument (SF-36). This is a 36-item patient-reported questionnaire that covers eight health domains. Scores for each domain are 0 to 100, with a higher score defining a more favorable health state (0 points means maximum impact on quality of life, 100 means no impact on quality of life).	24 and 48 weeks
The difference in Quality of Life between start and end of treatment intervention, and end of study by means of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaires.	The difference in Quality of Life between start and end of treatment intervention, and end of study by means of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). The DLQI is calculated by summing the score of each question resulting in a maximum of 30 and a minimum of 0 points. A higher score defines a less favorable health state and the more quality of life is impaired.	24 and 48 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Eijkman Oxford Clinical Research Unit, Indonesia
• Collaborators: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Radboud University Medical Center; University of Gadjah Mada, Faculty of Medicine; University of Diponegoro; Papua Agency of Health Research and Development (NIHRD); Oxford University Clinical Research Unit
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Hardiyanto Soebono, Prof.Dr.dr, Center of Tropical Medicine, University of Gadjah Mada

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 30, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 7, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): February 17, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 7, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 4, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Leprosy; Multibacillary leprosy; Skin-NTD
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections and Mycoses; Actinomycetales Infections; Mycobacterium Infections; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous; Leprosy; Leprosy, Multibacillary; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Hypoglycemic Agents; Metformin
• Other Study ID Numbers: EOCRU.2021.002; OXTREC 14-21 (Other Identifier: Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee)

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
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No