MER3101: MAS-1 Adjuvanted Antigen-specific Immunotherapeutic for Prevention and Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Clinical Trial

— MER3101  

Official title:

MER3101: MAS-1 Adjuvanted Antigen-specific Immunotherapeutic for Prevention and Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03624062
• Other study ID #: 15-1352
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 1
• Start date: August 31, 2020
• Est. completion date: December 10, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: November 2023
• Source: University of Colorado, Denver
• Contact: Morgan Sooy
• Phone: 303-724-5686
• Email: morgan.sooy[@]CUANSCHUTZ.EDU
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The study is a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, Phase 1 dose-escalation clinical trial. The objective of the trial is to determine if IBC adjuvanted with MAS-1 is safe and will favor tolerogenic pathways to restore immunologic balance and reverse type 1 diabetes (T1D) autoimmunity.

Description:

The study is a four-arm (cohort), single center, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation clinical trial. In this Phase I study, subjects (5 active MER3101 per arm plus 2 MAS-1 placebo) will be randomized to receive two intramuscular doses at days 0 and 28 of either MAS-1 placebo emulsion or MAS-1 adjuvanted IBC at 33, 109, and 327 µg IBC in 0.25 mL MAS-1 adjuvanted emulsion, followed by an additional arm to receive the optimal IBC dose selected from the first 3 arms in 0.25 mL MAS-1 emulsion. All groups will receive standard intensive diabetes treatment with insulin and dietary management.

The primary endpoint is assess the safety and tolerability of 3 doses of progressively higher IBC antigen doses of the vaccine, at 0.25 mL of MAS-1 adjuvant emulsion. In addition, to determine if the vaccine induces a shift towards protection shown by increased levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and TGF-b and regulatory changes in insulin-specific T and B cells using novel reagents to detect these unique populations of cells in treated subjects.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 28
• Est. completion date: December 10, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: December 4, 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 45 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Be between the ages of 18 and 45 years of age who meet the ADA standard T1DM criteria and are positive for at least 1 islet cell autoantibody.

2. Type 1-diabetes mellitus diagnosed within the previous 2 years at time of screening

3. Must have stimulated C-peptide levels = 0.2 pmol/ml measured during a mixed meal tolerance test (MMTT) conducted at least 21 days from diagnosis of diabetes and within one month (37 days) of randomization

4. At least one month from last immunization

5. Must be willing to comply with intensive diabetes management

6. If participant is female with reproductive potential, she must have a negative pregnancy test and be willing to avoid pregnancy during the treatment period until 2 months after the last study drug administration.

7. Willing to forgo routine clinical immunizations during the first 100 days after initial study drug administration (COVID-19 vaccination is permitted 60 days following initial study drug administration)

8. Subjects must have HbA1c levels under 9.5 to be enrolled in the study.

9. At least 30 days from receiving a single dose COVID-19 vaccine or at least 30 days from completing a multi-dose COVID-19 vaccine series.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Be currently pregnant or lactating, or anticipate getting pregnant during the treatment period until 2 months after the last study drug administration.

2. Ongoing use of medications known to influence glucose tolerance

3. Require use of systemic immunosuppressant(s)

4. Any significant diabetes complications such as renal disease (proteinuria or elevated Cr) and diabetic retinopathy

5. Have a history of malignancies

6. Be currently using non-insulin pharmaceuticals to affect glycemic control

7. Have any acute or chronic complicating medical issues or abnormal clinical laboratory results that interfere with study conduct or cause increased risk including neurological abnormalities.

8. Inability or unwillingness to comply with the provisions of this protocol

9. Have an active infection or positive tuberculosis test result.

10. Have serologic evidence of current or past HIV, Hep B, or Hep C infection.

11. Have a known history of hypersensitivity or allergy reactions to squalane or squalene based adjuvants or other components of the study immunogen

12. Subjects with a history or evidence of chronic kidney disease (serum creatinine> 1.5mg/dL)

13. Subjects with a history of proliferative diabetic retinopathy that has not been treated with laser therapy

14. Subjects with a history of neuropathy, foot ulcers, amputations, or kidney disease

15. Males of reproductive potential who are unwilling to use acceptable birth control during the treatment period through 2 months after the last study drug administration, unless the female partner is postmenopausal or surgically sterile.

16. Have current, confirmed COVID-19 infection

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Diabetes Mellitus
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1
• Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Intervention

Drug:
• MAS-1 adjuvanted Insulin B-chain
MER3101 (MAS-1 adjuvanted insulin B chain (IBC)), is a white, free-flowing 30:70 (w/w) water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. MER3101 contains in the aqueous (disperse) phase 33, 109, or 327 µg per 0.25 mL dose of IBC (Drug Substance) and the oil (continuous) phase is comprised of MAS-1 oil vehicle.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Colorado, Denver	Aurora	Colorado

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Colorado, Denver	Nova Immunotherapeutics Limited, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]	Number of participants with Treatment-Related Adverse Events, and the frequency of Adverse Events, as Assessed by CTCAE v4.0. The rates of severe hypoglycemic and adverse events will be computed (total number of events divided by total patient years of follow-up) and the rates compared using a Poisson regression model.	43 months
Primary	Immunologic Analysis	T cell assays looking for IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, TGFß production and shift towards Treg and iNKT cell population.	43 months
Secondary	Mean C-peptide AUC value	The area under the stimulated C-peptide curve (AUC) over the first 2 hours of a mixed meal glucose tolerance test. The AUC is computed using the trapezoidal rule that is a weighted sum of the C-peptide values over the 120 minutes.	43 months
Secondary	HbA1c value	The mean HbA1c over all follow-up values will be compared between the control and placebo group using a normal errors longitudinal analysis.	43 months
Secondary	Insulin Use	The mean insulin dose (units/kg) over all follow-up values will be compared between the control and placebo group using a normal errors longitudinal analysis.	43 months