EuroNetrod HTN OFF-Med Study of Renal Denervation With NetrodTM Six-electrode Radiofrequency RDN System (EuroNetrod)

Randomized Controlled Clinical Study to Evaluate the Novel Netrod™ Renal Denervation System and the Impact of Sham vs Open-Label Control in European Patients With Uncontrolled Primary Hypertension in the Absence of Hypertensive Medication

This randomized controlled investigation aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Netrod™ RDN system in patients with uncontrolled primary hypertension in the absence of antihypertensive medication, comparing the outcomes between renal denervation, sham procedure, and open-label control groups.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Uncontrolled Hypertension
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Netrod™ six-electrode radiofrequency renal denervation system; Device: Sham Procedure

Detailed Description

This is a prospective, multi-center, blinded, three-arm randomized controlled study to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the Netrod™ RDN system for treating treating patients with uncontrolled primary hypertension in the absence of antihypertensive medications. This clinical investigation will enroll 260 patients in Europe. Patients with uncontrolled primary hypertension (office BP ≥150/90 mmHg and <180/110 mmHg) who are willing to discontinue antihypertensive medications will be screened after providing informed consent.

All eligible patients will undergo a medication washout period of at least three weeks, and those who continue to meet the eligibility requirements will be randomized in a 2:1:1 ratio to one of three groups: renal denervation (RDN), a sham procedure (renal artery angiogram only), or an open-label group (not undergoing the renal angiogram).

All subjects randomized to either the treatment or sham procedure groups will be evaluated at hospital discharge. All subjects will be evaluated at 1 and 3 months post-procedure. Additionally, patients who undergo the RDN procedure will also be evaluated at 12, 24, and 36 months post-procedure. All subjects will remain off antihypertensive medications until the primary endpoint is assessed at the 3-month follow-up visit, after which antihypertensive medications may be reintroduced.

Patients in the RDN and sham-control groups, as well as all clinical follow-up assessors, will be blinded to the treatment allocation. The primary efficacy endpoint is the change in daytime ambulatory systolic blood pressure (ASBP) from baseline at three months post-procedure. The primary safety endpoint is the periprocedural major adverse event (MAE) rate at 30 days post-procedure.

Subjects enrolled in the sham and open-label control groups may cross over to RDN at three months. Those who cross over will restart the follow-up schedule post-RDN procedure.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Basel-Stadt
    • Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, Switzerland
      • University Hospital Basel

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Subject with age ≥18 years or minimum age as required by local regulations and ≤80 years old at time of consent
2. Subject with hypertension who has an office BP of ≥150/90 mmHg and <180/110 mmHg (meet both SBP and DBP criteria) at screening V3 and mean daytime ASBP ≥140 mmHg and <170 mmHg by 24-hour ABPM at Screening V3
3. Subject or his/her legal representative must sign an IEC/REB-approved ICF for the study
4. Subject is willing to discontinue current antihypertensive medications at Screening V1 through the 3-month follow-up visit

Exclusion Criteria:

1. 1. Subject who is pregnant, nursing or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study
2. Subject with unilateral or bilateral renal artery that are not suitable for ablation procedure (renal artery stenosis more than 50%, renal aneurysm, renal artery abnormality, renal artery diameter <3 mm or treatable segment length <20 mm)
3. Subject with single-kidney or history of kidney transplant
4. Subject with history of renal artery intervention (PTA or stenting) or RDN
5. Subject with any conditions that may affect the accuracy of blood pressure measurement: such as the diameter of the upper arm is too large for the cuff, or arrhythmia, etc.
6. Subject with known secondary hypertension
7. Subject with eGFR <40 mL/min/l.73m²
8. Subject with history of hospitalization for hypertensive emergency within past year
9. Subject with type I diabetes mellitus
10. Subject with primary pulmonary hypertension
11. Subject with history of bleeding diathesis and haematological disorders or coagulopathy
12. Subject with recent history of any embolism within 6 months
13. Subject with history of coronary artery intervention, unstable angina or myocardial infarction
14. Subject with stable angina and therefore treated anti-anginal medication (betablockers, calcium antagonists, long-acting nitrates)
15. Subject with history of abdominal aortic aneurysm
16. Subject with atrial fibrillation or history of atrial fibrillation in the last 3 years or on rhythm control medication for arrhythmia
17. Subject with a history of ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia
18. Subject known with serum HIV-positive
19. Subject who is allergic to contrast agents and not responding to preventive medication
20. Subject with acute or severe systemic infections
21. Subject with mental illness or any psychological problems that may interfere with participating in the study
22. Subject with history of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
23. Subject with malignant tumors or end-stage disease
24. Subject with severe PAD along the access path to renal arteries, including abdominal aneurysm
25. Subject with severe heart valve stenosis or regurgitation
26. Subject with heart failure requiring medications (i.e. ACE/ARB, SGTL2i, diuretics).
27. Subject with uncontrolled hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism
28. Subject with severe electrolyte abnormalities, defined as values above and below the limits of normal (ULN) on repeated measurements despite normalization efforts, or with liver function abnormalities, defined as 2 > ULN
29. Subject who requires mechanical ventilation other than CPAP for sleep apnea
30. Subject with a implanted pacemaker or ICD/CRT device
31. Subject with a history of major surgery or trauma within 30 days prior to enrolment
32. Subject who has planned surgery or cardiovascular intervention within the next 12 months
33. Subject who is participating in other drug or medical device clinical investigations
34. Subject who has known drug or alcohol dependence, difficulty to understand the clinical investigation protocol, inability/unwillingness to follow the clinical investigation protocol
35. Subject who is unsuitable to participate in this study in the opinion of investigators
36. Subjects who are incapacitated or unable to provide informed consent due to cognitive impairment, mental illness, or other conditions that affect their decision-making capacity.

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: Renal Denervation; Renal angiogram and Renal Denervation procedure	Device: Netrod™ six-electrode radiofrequency renal denervation system; Netrod™ renal denervation (RDN) system, which is indicated for the treatment of uncontrolled hypertension. It consists of the following two components: Netrod™ Six-Electrode Basket Radiofrequency Renal Denervation Catheter and; Netrod™ Renal Denervation Radiofrequency Generator The catheter's electrodes deploy into a self-adaptive basket structure, optimizing contact with the vessel wall for effective ablation.
Sham Comparator: Sham Control group; Renal angiogram followed by Sham procedure	Device: Sham Procedure; Patients will be remained on the catheterization table for at least 20 min prior to sheath removal.
No Intervention: Open-label Control group; The patient will not undergo either the renal angiogram or the RDN procedure.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean daytime ambulatory systolic blood pressure	Between-group difference in baseline adjusted change in mean daytime ambulatory systolic blood pressure (ASBP) at 3 months compared to baseline measured by 24 hours ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) (RDN vs sham vs open-label).	From baseline at Screening Visit 2 to Month 3 post-procedure
Periprocedural major adverse event (MAE) rate	Periprocedural major adverse event (MAE) rate, defined as a composite of the following events at 30 days post procedure: All-cause mortality; End-stage renal disease (ESRD) defined as stage 5 CKD (eGFR < 15 mL/min/l.73m²) or hemodialysis; Significant embolic event resulting in end-organ damage; Renal artery perforation or dissection requiring intervention; Major vascular complications requiring medical or surgical intervention; Hospitalization for hypertensive crisis (unless clearly demonstrated to be associated with non-adherence with antihypertensive medications in the subjects on escape medication); New renal artery stenosis > 70% (must be confirmed by angiography)	At 30 days post-procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Office blood pressure (BP) and home BP	Changes from baseline in office blood pressure (BP) and home BP at 1- and 3-month post procedure for all enrolled subjects, and 12-, 24- and 36-month post procedure for the subjects who underwent RDN	From baseline at Screening Visit 2 to Month 1, 3, 12, 24 and 36 post-procedure
Mean ambulatory BP including 24-hour ASBP and ADBP, daytime and nighttime SBP and DBP	Changes from baseline in mean ambulatory BP including 24-hour ASBP and ADBP, daytime and nighttime SBP and DBP measured by 24-hour ABPM at 1-, 3-month for all enrolled subjects, and 12-, 24- and 36-month for the subjects who underwent RDN.	From baseline at Screening Visit 2 to Month 1, 3, 12, 24 and 36 post-procedure
Percentage of patients with office systolic BP (SBP) within the target range (SBP <140 mmHg)	Percentage of patients with office systolic BP (SBP) within the target range (SBP <140 mmHg) at 3-month post procedure for all enrolled subjects, and 12-, 24- and 36-month post procedure for the subjects who underwent RDN	At Month 3, 12, 24 and 36 post-procedure
Percentage of patients with office systolic blood pressure (SBP) within the target range (SBP <130 mmHg)	Percentage of patients with office systolic blood pressure (SBP) within the target range (SBP <130 mmHg) at 3-month post procedure for all enrolled subjects, and 12-, 24- and 36-month post procedure for the subjects who underwent RDN	At Month 3, 12, 24 and 36 post-procedure
Percentage of patients with mean ambulatory systolic blood pressure (ASBP) within the target range (SBP <130 mmHg)	Percentage of patients with mean ambulatory systolic blood pressure (ASBP) within the target range (SBP <130 mmHg) at 3-month post procedure for all enrolled subjects, and 12-, 24- and 36-month post procedure for the subjects who underwent RDN	At Month 3, 12, 24 and 36 post-procedure
The proportion of ambulatory SBP decreased by 5 and 10 mmHg	The proportion of ambulatory SBP decreased by 5 and 10 mmHg at 3-month post procedure	At Month 3 post-procedure
Safety event rates	The following safety event rates to 3-month post procedure for all enrolled subjects, and the following event rates at 12-, 24- and 36-month post procedure for the subjects who underwent RDN procedure: All-cause mortality; End-stage renal disease (ESRD) defined as stage 5 CKD (eGFR < 15 mL/min/l.73m²); ≥50% decline in eGFR or >50% increase in serum creatinine from baseline; New myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndrome (ACS); New stroke or CVA; Renal artery reintervention; New renal artery stenosis > 70% confirmed by angiography; Hospitalization for hypertensive crisis not related to confirmed non-adherence of antihypertensive medications; Hospitalization for major cardiovascular- or hemodynamic-related events (such as heart failure or atrial fibrillation)	At Month 3 post-procedure
Device deficiency rates	Device deficiency rates	At Visit 4, day 0 (procedure)
Quality of life changes	Quality of life changes at 12 months and annually through 3 years post index procedure	From baseline at Screening Visit 2 to Month 3, 12, 24 and 36 post-procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Shanghai Golden Leaf MedTec Co. Ltd
• Collaborators: European Cardiovascular Research Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Felix Mahfoud, Prof. Dr., Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Basel; Principal Investigator: Andrew Sharp, Prof., The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Li Y, Gao F, Ren C, Ma G, Bu P, Fu G, Chen H, Han Z, Li Y, Li J, Ma X, Hao L, Chen Y, Chen M, Chen X, Liu X, Jiang J, Yu J, Li N, Ma X, Yang B, Cong H, Wang X, Fan Q, Lv S, Wu D, Dai Q, Qiu F, Cai H, Zhou YJ. The Netrod six-electrode radiofrequency renal denervation system for uncontrolled hypertension: a sham-controlled trial. Eur Heart J. 2024 Nov 21;45(44):4761-4764. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae703. No abstract available.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): August 30, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2031

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 15, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 3, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): December 9, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 31, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Blood pressure; Resistant Hypertension; Interventional therapy; Sympathetic nervous system; Refractory Hypertension; Device-based therapy; Interventional cardiology; Renal denervation (RDN); Radiofrequency renal denervation; Renal artery denervation
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Hypertension
• Other Study ID Numbers: SGL-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: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No