Safety and Efficacy Study of M2951 in Participants With Rheumatoid Arthritis

EMD Serono Research & Development Institute, Inc.65 enrolled

Overview

M2951 is an investigational drug under evaluation for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The purpose of the study is to assess the efficacy of M2951 in participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) currently treated with stable dose of methotrexate (MTX).

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Interventions

PlaceboDRUG

Participants received placebo matched to M2951 twice daily up to Day 84 during the double-blind treatment period.

M2951DRUG

Participants received 50 milligrams (mg) M2951 orally twice daily up to Day 84 during the double-blind treatment period.

M2951DRUG

Participants who received placebo matched to M2951 or M2951 in double-blind treatment period, received 50 mg M2951 orally twice daily up to 26-weeks during the open label extension period.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 75 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Men or women 18 to 75 years of age at the time of informed consent signature * Confirmed diagnosis of RA according to 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) RA classification criteria of at least 6 months duration * Positive RF and/or anti-CCP (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide) * Persistently active disease defined as greater than equal to (\>=) 6 swollen joints (of 66 counted) and \>= 6 tender joints (of 68 counted) * High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) \>= 3.6 milligram per liter (mg/L) * Treatment for \>= 12 weeks with 10 to 25 mg/week MTX at a stable dose for at least 4 weeks prior to dosing with the investigational medicinal product (IMP) and maintained throughout the trial * Women of childbearing potential must use acceptable methods of contraception for 4 weeks prior to randomization, throughout the trial, and for 90 days after the last dose of IMP. For the purposes of this trial * Females who are postmenopausal (age-related amenorrhea \>= 12 consecutive months and increased follicle-stimulating hormone \[FSH\] greater than (\>) 40 milli international units per milliliter \[mIU/mL\]), or who have undergone hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy are exempt from pregnancy testing. If necessary to confirm postmenopausal status, an FSH will be drawn at Screening * Acceptable contraception is defined as use of either 2 barrier methods (eg, female diaphragm and male condom), or 1 barrier method in conjunction with one of the following: spermicide, an intrauterine device, or hormonal contraceptives (implant or oral) * Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test at the Screening Visit and a negative urine pregnancy test at Day 1/randomization before dosing. Exclusion Criteria: * Use of oral corticosteroids \> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalent, use of injectable corticosteroids, or change in dose of corticosteroids within 2 weeks prior to Screening or during Screening * Initiation or change in dose for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) within 2 weeks prior to Screening * Treatment with tofacitinib, other Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibitors, or a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD; eg, anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha \[anti-TNF-α\], tocilizumab \[anti-interleukin-6 receptor\], abatacept \[CTLA4-Fc\]), or other immunosuppressive drugs(sulfasalazine would be acceptable at a stable dose) other than methotrexate within 3 months prior to Screening or during Screening * Treatment with anti-CD20 therapy (eg, rituximab) within 12 months prior to Screening or during Screening * Immunologic disorder other than Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), with the exception of secondary Sjogren's syndrome associated with RA, and well-controlled diabetes or thyroid disorder, or any other condition requiring oral, intravenous, intramuscular, or intra-articular corticosteroid therapy * Vaccination with live or live-attenuated virus vaccine within 1 month prior to Screening * Active, clinically significant, viral, bacterial, or fungal infection, or any major episode of infection requiring hospitalization or treatment with parenteral anti-infectives within 4 weeks of Screening or during Screening, or completion of oral anti-infectives within 2 weeks before or during Screening, or a history of recurrent infections (ie, 3 or more of the same type of infection in a 12-month rolling period). Vaginal candidiasis, onychomycosis, and genital or oral herpes simplex virus considered by the Investigator to be sufficiently controlled would not be exclusionary * History of or positive testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C antibody and/or polymerase chain reaction, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (+) and/or hepatitis B core total, and/or IgM antibody (+) at Screening * History of or current diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB); undergoing treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI); untreated LTBI (as determined by documented results within 3 months of the Screening Visit of a positive TB skin test with purified protein derivative with induration \>= 5 millimeter (mm), a positive QuantiFERON-TB test or positive or borderline T-SPOT \[Elispot\] test); or positive QuantiFERON-TB test at Screening. Participants with documented completed appropriate LTBI treatment would not be excluded and are not required to be tested * Participants with current household contacts with active TB will also be excluded * Indeterminate QuantiFERON-TB or T-SPOT tests may be repeated once, and will be considered positive if retest results are positive or indeterminate * History of cancer, except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas of the skin (no more than 3 lesions requiring treatment in lifetime) or carcinoma in situ/cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of the uterine cervix, unless considered cured \> 5 years * Clinically significant abnormality on electrocardiogram (ECG), or an active infective process or any other clinically significant abnormality on Screening chest X-ray (CXR) taken within 4 weeks of the first dose, per Investigator opinion. If a CXR has been taken within the previous 3 months and results are available and normal, the CXR does not need to be carried out * B cell (CD19) count less than (\<) 50% of the lower limit of normal at Screening * Significant cytopenia including absolute neutrophil count \< 1,500/ mm\^3, platelet count \< 100,000/mm\^3, or absolute lymphocyte count \< 1,000/mm\^3

Locations (2)

U.S. Medical Information

Billerica, Massachusetts, United States

Merck KGaA Communication Center

Darmstadt, Germany

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Proportion of Participants Who Achieved American College of Rheumatology-20 (ACR20) Response

ACR 20 response: greater than or equal to (\>=) 20 percent (%) improvement in both tender joint counts (based on a total of 68 joints) and swollen joint counts (based on a total of 66 joints) together with \>=20% improvement in at least 3 of the following: 1) participant's assessment of pain; 2) participant's global assessment of disease activity; 3) physician's global assessment of disease activity; 4) participant's assessment of physical function measured by Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI); and 5) acute phase reactant as measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Proportion of ACR20 responders = Number of participants with ACR20 response divided by total participants.

Time frame: Day 84

Secondary Outcomes

Mean Change From Baseline in High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP) at Day 28

Mean change in the hsCRP concentration from baseline at Day 28 was reported.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 28

Proportion of Participants Achieving American College of Rheumatology-50 (ACR50) Response

ACR 50 response: \>=50% improvement in both tender joint counts (based on a total of 68 joints) and swollen joint counts (based on a total of 66 joints) together with \>=50% improvement in at least 3 of the following: 1) participant's assessment of pain; 2) participant's global assessment of disease activity; 3) physician's global assessment of disease activity; 4) participant's assessment of physical function measured by HAQ-DI; and 5) acute phase reactant as measured by hsCRP. Proportion of ACR50 responders = Number of participants with ACR50 response divided by total participants.

Time frame: Day 28, Day 56 and Day 84

Proportion of Participants Achieving American College of Rheumatology-70 (ACR70) Response

ACR 70 response: \>=70% improvement in both tender joint counts (based on a total of 68 joints) and swollen joint counts (based on a total of 66 joints) together with \>=70% improvement in at least 3 of the following: 1) participant's assessment of pain; 2) participant's global assessment of disease activity; 3) physician's global assessment of disease activity; 4) participant's assessment of physical function measured by HAQ-DI; and 5) acute phase reactant as measured by hsCRP. Proportion of ACR70 responders = Number of participants with ACR70 response divided by total participants.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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Time frame: Day 28, Day 56 and Day 84

Mean Change From Baseline in High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP) at Day 84

Mean change in the hsCRP concentration from baseline at Day 84 was reported.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 84

Mean Change From Baseline in Disease Activity Score Based on a 28 Joint Count High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (DAS28-hsCRP) at Day 28 and 84

Disease Activity Score (DAS) based on a 28 joint count hsCRP consisted of composite numerical score of following variables: tender joint count (TJC28), swollen joint count (SJC28), hsCRP (mg/mL), and participant's global assessment of disease activity. DAS28-hsCRP was calculated using following formula: DAS28-hsCRP equals to (=) 0.56\*square root (sqrt) (TJC28) plus (+) 0.28\*sqrt (SJC28)+ 0.014\* participant's global assessment of disease activity + 0.36\*natural log(hsCRP+1) +0.96. Scores ranged 1.0-9.4, where lower scores indicated less disease activity.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 28 and Day 84

Proportion of Participants With Disease Activity Score- High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (DAS28-hsCRP) Value Less Than (<) 3.2

DAS28-hsCRP consisted of composite score of following variables: TJC28, SJC28, hsCRP (mg/mL), and participant's global assessment of disease activity. DAS28-hsCRP was calculated using following formula: DAS28-hsCRP =0.56\* sqrt(TJC28) + 0.28\*sqrt(SJC28)+ 0.014\* participant's global assessment of disease activity + 0.36\*natural log(hsCRP+1) +0.96. Scores ranged 1.0-9.4, where lower scores indicated less disease activity. Proportion of participants with DAS28-hsCRP value \<3.2 were reported.

Time frame: Day 84

Proportion of Participants With Disease Activity Score- High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (DAS28-hsCRP) Value Less Than (<) 2.6

DAS28 consisted of composite score of following variables: TJC28, SJC28, hsCRP (mg/mL), and participant's global assessment of disease activity. DAS28-hsCRP was calculated using following formula: DAS28-hsCRP =0.56\* sqrt (TJC28) + 0.28\*sqrt (SJC28)+ 0.014\* participant's global assessment of disease activity + 0.36\*natural log(hsCRP+1) +0.96. Scores ranged 1.0-9.4, where lower scores indicated less disease activity. Proportion of participants with DAS28-hsCRP value \<2.6 were reported.

Time frame: Day 84

Change From Baseline in Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) at Day 28 and 84

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a type of blood test that measures how quickly erythrocytes (red blood cells) settle at the bottom of a test tube that contains a blood sample. Higher values indicate inflammation in the body.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 28 and Day 84

Change From Baseline in Anti-cyclic Citrullinated Peptide (Anti-CCP) Antibody Levels at Day 28 and 84

Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) is an antibody present in most rheumatoid arthritis participants.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 28 and Day 84

Change From Baseline in Rheumatoid Factor (RF) at Day 28 and 84

Rheumatoid Factor is an anti-body present in the blood.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 28 and Day 84

Change From Baseline in Global Assessment of Disease Activity Based on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at Day 84

The participant's overall assessment of disease activity was recorded using the 100 millimeter (mm) horizontal visual analog scale (VAS). The scale ranged from 0-100 mm, where 0 indicated no disease activity (symptom free and no arthritis symptoms) and 100 represented maximum disease activity (maximum arthritis disease activity).

Time frame: Baseline, Day 84

Change From Baseline in Self-assessment of Pain Based on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at Day 84

The participants were asked to assess their level of pain by marking a vertical tick on a 100 mm horizontal VAS scale. The scale ranged from 0-100 mm, where 0 indicated no pain and 100 indicated worst possible pain.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 84

Change From Baseline in Self-assessment of Disability Using Health Assessment Questionnaire - Disability Index (HAQ-DI) Score at Day 84

The HAQ-DI questionnaire assessed the participant's self-perception on the degree of difficulty \[0 (without any difficulty), 1 (with some difficulty), 2 (with much difficulty), and 3 (unable to do)\] when dressing and grooming, arising, eating, walking, hygiene, reaching, gripping, and performing other daily activities. Scores for each functional area were averaged to calculate HAQ-DI scores, which ranged from 0 (no disability) to 3 (worst disability). A decrease in HAQ-DI score indicated an improvement in the participant's condition.

Time frame: Baseline, Day 84

Change From Baseline in Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity Scale Based on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at Day 84

The Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity was recorded using the 100 mm horizontal VAS. Physician rated participant's arthritis disease activity on a scale ranged from 0-100 mm, where 0 indicated no disease activity (no arthritis) and 100 represented maximum disease activity (maximum arthritis).

Time frame: Baseline, Day 84

Number of Participants With Treatment Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs) and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs)

An Adverse event (AE) was defined as any unfavorable and unintended sign (including an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of study drug, whether or not considered related to the study drug or worsening of pre-existing medical condition, whether or not related to study drug. A serious adverse event (SAE) was an AE that resulted in any of the following outcomes: death; life threatening; persistent/significant disability/incapacity; initial or prolonged inpatient hospitalization; congenital anomaly/birth defect or was otherwise considered medically important. Treatment-emergent are events between first dose of study drug that were absent before treatment or that worsened relative to pre-treatment state. TEAEs included both Serious TEAEs and non-serious TEAEs.