There are no approved treatments for pSS and the clinical endpoints currently used in clinical trials are inadequate to capture all aspects of the disease that should be evaluated in clinical trials. The newly developed composite endpoint: Sjögren's Tool for Assessing Response to treatment (STAR) will allow a more specific and meaningful assessment of treatment efficacy in pSS. Because of the heterogeneity of the disease and of the central role of the interplay between B- and T-cells in the pathogenesis, it is worth to evaluate combination of conventional synthetic immunomodulatory drugs targeting both B- and T-cells.
Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease with a female-to-male predominance of 9:1 and a peak incidence at 50 years of age. It is characterized by chronic inflammation and subsequent destruction of exocrine glands, mainly lacrimal and salivary glands, with ocular and oral dryness. Patients also experience joint pain and extreme fatigue. In 20-40% of patients, the inflammatory process extends beyond the exocrine glands and patients experience systemic extra glandular manifestations, with 5-10% developing B-cell lymphoma. Two populations of pSS patients can be defined. Patients with dryness, fatigue, pain and low systemic activity present no or limited long-term extraglandular damage but they have a profoundly reduced quality of life with marked anxiety, depression, and social isolation (Rischmueller 2016)(Meijer, 2009). Patients with high systemic activity have important long-term damage and bad prognosis. To date, there are no approved disease-modifying treatments. Current clinical outcome assessment (COA) tools in pSS have shown important weaknesses (e.g. high placebo response rate) which may hamper demonstration of therapeutic benefit. A novel COA called STAR has recently been developed by the NECESSITY consortium (funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative) and should allow the identification of new therapeutic options for both patient populations. the investigator aim to demonstrate, thanks to the new STAR outcome measure, efficacy of a combination therapy targeting both B- and T-cells in pSS patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
300
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a 4-aminoquinoline belonging to the group of antimalarial agents. Its immunomodulatory activity on B-cells has mainly been attributed to its inhibition of antigen presentation, cytokine production, and recently on Toll-like receptor signaling and IFN secretion that drives B cell activation.
Leflunomide (LEF) is a derivative of isoxazole and is converted into an active metabolite which blocks de novo synthesis of pyrimidines in activated T lymphocytes, thereby inhibiting T cell proliferation and consequently T cell-dependent B cell formation of autoantibodies.
Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid which blocks proliferation of lymphocytes by inhibiting the de novo pathway of purine biosynthesis (Allison, 2000).
Placebo of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a 4-aminoquinoline belonging to the group of antimalarial agents. Its immunomodulatory activity on B-cells has mainly been attributed to its inhibition of antigen presentation, cytokine production, and recently on Toll-like receptor signaling and IFN secretion that drives B cell activation.
Placebo of Leflunomide (LEF) is a derivative of isoxazole and is converted into an active metabolite which blocks de novo synthesis of pyrimidines in activated T lymphocytes, thereby inhibiting T cell proliferation
Placebo of Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid which blocks proliferation of lymphocytes by inhibiting the de novo pathway of purine biosynthesis (Allison, 2000).
Valérie Devauchelle
Brest, France
RECRUITINGEric Hachulla
Lille, France
RECRUITINGJacques Morel
Montpellier, France
RECRUITINGVéronique Le Guern
Paris, France
RECRUITINGJacques-Eric Gottenberg
Strasbourg, France
RECRUITINGChristophe Richez
Talence, France
RECRUITINGRaphaele Seror
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Île-de-France Region, France
RECRUITINGCohort 1. Proportion of patients achieving a response according to preliminary STAR at week 24 between each active treatment arm and placebo arm.
Time frame: During the 24 weeks of the trials
Cohort 2. Proportion of patients achieving a response according to preliminary STAR at week 24 between each active treatment arm and placebo arm.
Time frame: During the 24 weeks of the trials
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