A prospective, randomized safety and efficacy study of Certican® as add-on therapy against CMV disease in renal transplant recipients OBJECTIVES: Primary Objective: To demonstrate efficacy of Certican® as add-on therapy against CMV disease in comparison to either valcyte® (valganciclovir) or cymevene® (ganciclovir) alone, evaluated by quantitative measurement of CMV-DNA with PCR from the blood (qCMV-PCR) Secondary Objectives: To assess safety and tolerability of Certican® in patients with CMV- disease To study the effects of Certican® treatment on quality of life
DESIGN / PHASE Prospective, single-center, randomized, parallel group, controlled, phase II study. PATIENTS / GROUPS 40 patients in 2 groups 20 patients per group Randomization ratio 1:1, no stratification INVESTIGATIONAL DRUG Oral MED 1: Certican® initial dose: 1,5-3 mg day target trough level: 3-8 ng/mL (first levels will be performed after 3 days and then adjusted until - according to the judgment of the clinical investigator - a stable degree of immunosuppression is reached; thereafter Certican® trough levels will be performed at the scheduled appointments) COMPARATIVE DRUG No therapy (add-on design CONCOMITANT MEDICATION Allowed The concomitant immunosuppressive medication will be adjusted to the additional administration of Certican®. For example, if the patient already receives cyclosporine A or tacrolimus, this will be adjusted, according to the current recommendations4 at the judgment of the clinical investigator TOLERABILITY / SAFETY ENDPOINTS: Rejection Hematocrit Platelet count WBC count Wound healing disorders Blood lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides) Infections (other than CMV) PHARMACOKINETIC / PHARMACODYNAMIC ENDPOINTS Certican® (everolimus) trough levels STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY Primary Endpoint: CMV-load (copies/mL) Null and alternative hypotheses: H0 Treatment with Certican® (everolimus) in combination with valcyte® (valganciclovir) or cymevene® (ganciclovir) is equal to valcyte® (valganciclovir) or cymevene® (ganciclovir) alone in reducing the CMV-load in renal transplant patients with CMV-disease H1: Treatment with Certican® (everolimus) in combination with valcyte® (valganciclovir) or cymevene® (ganciclovir) is superior to valcyte® (valganciclovir) or cymevene® (ganciclovir) in reducing CMV load (copies/mL) in renal transplant patients with CMV-disease Type-I and -II errors - power. α=0.05 ß=0.2 (power 0.8) Statistical methodology ANOVA of repeated measures (CMV-copies/mL), one-sided t-test of CMV load at distinct time-points, one-sided t-test of the time (in weeks) until CMV-load reaches ≤600 copies/mL Sample size calculation Based on a one-sided testing and a σ of 0.2 in relative changes of CMV-copies, an α=0.05 And a ß=0.2 a sample size of 20 patients per group was determined. Main analysis set Per-protocol (efficacy) and intention to treat (ITT) for safety Other endpoints Bonferroni corrected t-tests will be performed for CMV-copies/mL at each time point of the follow-up period. The time to copies ≤ 600 will also be analyzed by a t-test. All other secondary endpoints and subgroup analysis will be performed in explorative intention (descriptive statistics).
Oral MED 1: Certican® initial dose: 1,5-3 mg day target trough level: 3-8 ng/mL (first levels will be performed after 3 days and then adjusted until - according to the judgement of the clinical investigator - a stable degree of immunosuppression is reached; thereafter Certican® trough levels will be performed at the scheduled appointments) MED 2: Valganciclovir (or ganciclovir) will be administered in addition to Certican (valganciclovir: 450 mg twice daily, ganciclovir 5 mg/kg i.v. twice daily)
Valganciclovir (or ganciclovir) will be administered alone (valganciclovir: 450 mg twice daily, ganciclovir 5 mg/kg i.v. twice daily)
Medical University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria, Austria
RECRUITINGrelative changes in CMV-load (copies/mL), as determined by qCMV-PCR from whole blood throughout the observational period
Time frame: 2 years
CMV-load (copies/mL) after 1-8 weeks, in months 3, 4, 6 and 12; Time (in weeks) until the CMV-load reaches ≤600 copies/mL
Time frame: 2 years
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Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
40