Feasibility of the Application of a New Six-month Treatment for Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Patients in France (FAST-MDR) (FAST-MDR)

Feasibility of the Application of a New Six-month Treatment for Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Patients in France - FAST-MDR

The FAST-MDR trial is an externally-controlled, multicentre trial with one prospective arm, evaluating the non-inferiority of the effectiveness of BPaLM in the interventional arm versus the effectiveness of the long, conventional regimen in a French historical cohort of MDR-TB patients (2006-2022). In light of recent WHO recommendations suggesting using BPaLM as a first choice for routine MDR-TB treatment and of the expected benefits of BPaLM over the standard treatment, there will be no internal comparator arm in the study.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Antibiotic Resistance; Mycobacterium Tuberculosis; MDR-TB; Tuberculosis Multi Drug Resistant Active
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Bedaquiline Oral Tablet; Drug: Bedaquiline Oral Tablet

Detailed Description

This study will be conducted in all adult patients diagnosed at the study sites with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis.

The study will assess a treatment strategy, with the regimen being adapted to the result of rapid molecular testing and phenotypic DST for fluoroquinolone resistance. Study participants will perform a rapid molecular test for fluoroquinolone resistance at screening/baseline visit: if the result is susceptible, they will receive BPaLM; if the result is resistant, they will receive a regimen with clofazimine instead of moxifloxacin (BPaLC); if the result is inconclusive, they will receive BPaLM plus clofazimine (BPaLMC). In this latter case, the regimen will be adapted according to result of phenotypic DST for fluoroquinolones: in case of susceptibility, clofazimine will be dropped (BPaLM); in case of resistance, moxifloxacin will be dropped (BPaLC).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 55
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Lorenzo GUGLIELMETTI, MD; Phone Number: 01 40 77 97 46; Email: lorenzo.guglielmetti@aphp.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Paris, France
    • Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital - infectious and tropical diseases
    • Contact: Valérie POURCHER; Phone Number: 01 42 16 02 62; Email: valerie.martinez@aphp.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion criteria

1. Is 18 years old or more
2. Is affected by bacteriologically- or molecularly-confirmed tuberculosis, due to strains of M. tuberculosis resistant to rifampicin (with or without resistance to isoniazid) according to a rapid molecular test
3. Is willing and able to give informed consent to be enrolled in the research project (signed or witnessed consent if the patient is illiterate)
4. Patients seen in consultation or hospitalized in one of the centers involved for rifampicin-resistant TB, with screening results available and compatible within 14 days following consent signature;

5. Is willing to use effective* contraception: women with childbearing potential** must agree to use effective contraception, unless their partner has had a vasectomy, for the duration of study treatment and up to 6 months after the end of study treatment; men who have not had a vasectomy must agree to use effective contraception for the duration of study treatment and up to 3 months after the end of study treatment;

   • The following contraception methods are considered effective, according to local regulation (CTFG recommendations, March 2024):

     1. Combined hormonal contraception (oestrogen + progestin)
     2. Progestin-only hormonal contraception
     3. Intrauterine device (IUD)
     4. Intrauterine hormone-releasing system (IUS)
     5. Bilateral tubal occlusion

     6. Vasectomised partner

        • A woman is considered of childbearing potential (WOCBP), i.e. fertile, following menarche and until becoming post-menopausal unless permanently sterile. Permanent sterilisation methods include hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy and bilateral oophorectomy. A postmenopausal state is defined as no menses for 12 months without an alternative medical cause. A high follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level in the postmenopausal range may be used to confirm a post-menopausal state in women not using hormonal contraception or hormonal replacement therapy. However in the absence of 12 months of amenorrhea, a single FSH measurement is insufficient.
6. Is affiliated to a social security system (as beneficiary) or has state medical aid (AME) or has an ongoing demand for AMEor has an ongoing demand for an emergency medical care (dispositif de soins d'urgence, as applicable for tuberculosis)

Exclusion criteria :

1. Is unable to take oral drugs
2. Has known allergies, hypersensitivity or intolerance or any other medical condition and contra indications to any drug of the regimen
3. Unwilling to comply to study procedures, at the clinician appreciation
4. Has proven or likely resistance to bedaquiline, clofazimine, linezolid, pretomanid or moxifloxacine, or has had exposure (for 30 days or more) in past five years to bedaquiline, clofazimine, delamanid, linezolid, or pretomanid
5. Is taking or needs to take contraindicated medications in association with investigational medicinal products
6. Has ≥500 msec QTcF interval on any ECG taken at screening or baseline visits, or has any cardiac risk factor for severe arrhythmia
7. Has severe extrapulmonary TB, including meningo-encephalitis, brain abscess, osteo-arthritis, osteomyelitis
8. Is concurrently participating in another trial of any medicinal product
9. Is already on a MDR/RR-TB treatment regimen since 4 weeks or more, and has no need to change the treatment regimen (i.e. adverse events, treatment failure)
10. Has significant and uncorrectable lab abnormalities at baseline: haemoglobin ≤7.9 g/dL, platelet count <75 000/mm3; absolute neutrophil count <1 000/ mm3; potassium <3.0 mEq/L; serum creatinine >3 x upper level of normality (ULN); alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≥3 x ULN
11. Has peripheral neuropathy of grade 3 or 4 (CTCAE scale)
12. Has any other condition (social or medical) which, in the opinion of the site investigator, would make the study participant unsafe
13. Is known to be pregnant or is unwilling or unable to stop breastfeeding an infant
14. Individuals permanently legally incompetent adults, under judicial or administrative protection and vulnerable persons

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bedaquiline - 400 mg; Posology : 400 mg once daily for 2 weeks and then 200 mg thrice weekly for the remaining 22 weeks.	Drug: Bedaquiline Oral Tablet; Bedaquiline will be given as 400 mg once daily for 2 weeks and then 200 mg thrice weekly for the remaining 22 weeks; Drug: Bedaquiline Oral Tablet; Bedaquiline will be given as 200 mg once daily for 8 weeks and then 100 mg daily for the remaining 16 weeks
Experimental: Bedaquiline - 200 mg; Posology : 200 mg once daily for 8 weeks and then 100 mg daily for the remaining 16 weeks.	Drug: Bedaquiline Oral Tablet; Bedaquiline will be given as 400 mg once daily for 2 weeks and then 200 mg thrice weekly for the remaining 22 weeks; Drug: Bedaquiline Oral Tablet; Bedaquiline will be given as 200 mg once daily for 8 weeks and then 100 mg daily for the remaining 16 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effectiveness of BPaLM compared to conventional MDR-TB regimens	Proportion of study participants achieving sustained treatment success at 18 months after study treatment start, according to 2021 WHO definitions, in the absence of permanent addition of any TB drug to the regimen or >4 consecutive weeks treatment interruption. For the historical cohort: proportion of patients achieving treatment success (2021 WHO definitions)	Day 0 to Month 18

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Early markers of BPaLM effectiveness (proportion of participants)	Proportion of participants with a negative sputum culture at two months after study treatment start	Day 0 to Day 60
Early markers of BPaLM effectiveness (time to sputum culture conversion)	Time to sputum culture conversion (defined as time between treatment start and the first of two consecutive negative sputum cultures, from specimens taken at least 7 days apart, as per WHO definitions)	Day 0 to month 18
BPaLM non-inferior effectiveness	For BPaLM arm, treatment success at 6 months, without addition of any TB drug or >4 consecutive weeks treatment interruption; For historical cohort: treatment success [all according to 2021 WHO definitions]	Start to month 6
BPaLM non-inferior effectiveness	For BPaLM arm, sustained treatment success at 12 months, without addition of any TB drug or >4 consecutive weeks treatment interruption; For historical cohort: treatment success [all according to 2021 WHO definitions]	Start to month 12
Rate of post-treatment relapse	For BPaLM arm, proportion of participants with TB relapse at 12 months after study treatment start. For historical cohort: proportion of patients with TB relapse according to latest available post-treatment follow-up data	Start to month 12
Rate of post-treatment relapse	For BPaLM arm, proportion of participants with TB relapse at 18 months after study treatment start. For historical cohort: proportion of patients with TB relapse according to latest available post-treatment follow-up data	Start to month 18
Factors associated with effectiveness of BPaLM at 18 month (interventional group only)	Factors associated with effectiveness of BPaLM at 18 months after study treatment start defined as patient characteristics, extension of TB disease, previous TB treatment, resistance profile and lineage of the TB strain, treatment adherence, and adverse events.	Start to month 18
Safety of BPaLM regimen	Proportion of participants with any serious adverse event [US FDA definition] or any Grade 3 or higher adverse event [CTCAE Severity Scale v 5.0]	Start to month 18
Pharmacology effectiveness (pharmacokinetic analyses)	Defined as population pharmacokinetic analyses for each drug	Start to month 6
Pharmacology effectiveness (evolution of MICs according to strain lineage)	Defined as multivariate models adjusting for MICs, strain lineage and patient factors to identify TDM measures associated, for each drug, with effectiveness, safety, and drug resistance acquisition	Start to month 6
Pharmacology effectiveness (evolution of MICs according to patient characteristics)	Defined as multivariate models adjusting for patient characteristics and extension of TB disease	Start to month 6
Rate of acquisition of drug resistance at 12 months (experimental group only)	Defined as the proportion of participants who acquired drug resistance to any of the study regimen drugs.	Start to month 12
Rate of acquisition of drug resistance at 18 months (each groups)	Defined as the proportion of participants who acquired drug resistance to any of the study regimen drugs.	Start to month 18
Microbiology eligibility - diagnostic delay (interventional group only)	Defined as time between screening and microbiological eligibilty assessment	Start to Month 1
Microbiology eligibility - diagnostic accuracy (interventional group only)	Defined as diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value) of different genotypic tests	Start to Month 1
Treatment adherence (interventional group only)	Proportion of doses taken out of total expected doses	Start to month 6
Health-related quality of life at treatment start (interventional group only)	Measured by Saint George's Respiratory questionnaire at treatment start	Start to month 1
Health-related quality of life at 6 months (interventional group only)	Measured by Saint George's Respiratory questionnaire at 6 months	Start to month 6
Health-related quality of life at 12 months (interventional group only)	Measured by Saint George's Respiratory questionnaire at 12 months	Start to month 12
Satisfaction of study participants	Measured by Likert scales at 12 months after study treatment start.	Start to month 12
Satisfaction of health care workers	Measured by Likert scales at 12 months after study treatment start.	Start to month 12
Health economy	Incremental cost per additional treatment success, calculated as: difference in costs (between groups)/ difference in treatment success (between groups).	Start to month 18

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
• Collaborators: Viatris Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2032

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: MDR-TB; BPaLM; Tuberculosis Multi Drug Resistant
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections and Mycoses; Actinomycetales Infections; Mycobacterium Infections; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant; bedaquiline
• Other Study ID Numbers: FAST-MDR

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The procedures carried out with the French data privacy authority (CNIL, Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés) do not provide for the transmission of the database, nor do the information and consent documents signed by the patients. Consultation by the editorial board or interested researchers of individual participant data that underlie the results reported in the article after deidentification may nevertheless be considered, subject to prior determination of the terms and conditions of such consultation and in respect for compliance with the applicable regulations.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Beginning 3 months and ending 3 years following article publication. Requests out of these time frame can also be submitted to the sponsor.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

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