Efficacy and Safety of ME-015 (Suplatast Tosilate) in Cough Related to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (COSMIC-IPF)

Overview

Orally administered ME-015 (Suplatast Tosilate) has been available on the market as a prescription drug for allergy-related conditions in Japan since 1995 with a good safety and tolerability profile. There is preclinical and exploratory clinical evidence suggesting that ME-015 may be effective in treating cough caused by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF cough). 80% of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are affected by a devastating dry cough that is often not responsive to standard cough treatments and causes significant psychological and physiological suffering as well as reduced quality of life. As of November 2024, there is no approved treatment for IPF cough. There is an enormous unmet clinical need for an effective, safe and well-tolerated oral treatment; particularly as approved antifibrotic treatments (pirfenidone and nintedanib) have not been shown to reduce cough in controlled clinical trials. The COSMIC-IPF Phase 2a trial is the first clinical trial assessing ME-015 (an NCE outside of Japan) for the treatment of IPF cough and aims to generate clinical proof-of-concept results regarding the safety and efficacy of ME-015 in this condition.

This quadruple blinded, cross-over, placebo-controlled clinical trial will randomize patients with stable idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and cough related to IPF (IPF cough) in a 1:1 fashion to one of two treatment sequences: active treatment followed by placebo, or placebo followed by active treatment. Each 14-day active/placebo treatment phase is preceded by a wash out period. The treatment sequences are followed by an observational 7-day follow-up period without medication. All subjects in the trial receive standard-of-care antifibrotic treatment for IPF. There is a single-blinded placebo run-in period before randomization to create a stable baseline and adjust for the anticipated placebo effect at study entry. Treatment assignment is blinded to patients, investigators, site personnel, data analysts and Sponsor. The active treatment is ME-015 (Suplatast Tosilate) 200 mg t.i.d. (three times per day) administered as oral capsules. The placebo treatment consists of identical capsules without the active component. The primary efficacy endpoint is the effect on awake time cough frequency measured objectively with the VitaloJak device over a 24-hour period. VitaloJak recordings are analysed using a blinded, independent, central review and validation process. The study is conducted as a single-country, multi-centre clinical trial in India with Melius Pharma AB as the Sponsor. External central adjudication of HRCT images by a UK-based KOL ensures guideline-based diagnoses of IPF. Treatment needs to follow international guideline-based standard of care for IPF, and all Indian sites have been chosen to reflect a similar standard of care as practiced in Europe and the U.S. Only literate patients are enrolled into the trial and all patient-facing material is made available in English and all common local languages.