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NCT Number: NCT05985915

A Randomized, Double-blind 2-arm, Followed by an Open-label 1-arm, NEPTUNUS Extension Study to Assess the Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Ianalumab in Patients With Sjogrens Syndrome.

The purpose of this study is to measure the long-term safety and tolerability of ianalumab in participants with Sjögren's syndrome who have previously completed treatment from one of two NEPTUNUS 1 year core studies (CVAY736A2301 [NCT05350072] or CVAY736A2302 [NCT05349214]).

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Age range

18 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 3

Primary location

Novartis Investigative Site, CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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About this study

This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, followed by an open-label, phase 3 study to assess the long-term safety and tolerability of of 300 mg ianalumab s.c. injection in participants with Sjögren's syndrome who have taken part in and completed one of two NEPTUNUS core studies, NEPTUNUS-1 (CVAY736A2301) or NEPTUNUS-2 (CVAY736A2302).

There will be no screening period in this trial. From Week 48 of the NEPTUNUS core study, participants will be given the opportunity to consent to this extension study. Eligible participants will enter the double blind treatment period and receive ianalumab 300 mg either monthly or every three months, consistent with their prior treatment assignment. Participants previously randomized to placebo in the core studies will be randomized 1:1 to receive ianalumab 300 mg monthly or every three months, starting at Week 60. Participants assigned to every three month dosing will receive monthly placebo injections between active doses to maintain blinding.

The study treatment is ianalumab 300 mg in a 2 mL pre-filled syringe (PFS) in needle safety device for injection or ianalumab via 2 mL autoinjector (AI). An AI is a device constituent of a single integral, or single entity, drug-device combination product, with drug primary mode of action. Participants already enrolled into the study (before AI approval and implementation) will continue receiving the treatment via PFS and will not be switched to AI.

All participants, including those previously on ianalumab 300 mg every three months or monthly in the double-blind treatment period will switch to open-label treatment and receive ianalumab 300 mg monthly. The treatment duration including both double-blind and open-label treatment periods will be 6 years. After the treatment period, all participants will enter a follow-up period to be monitored for at least 20 weeks and then a conditional (if B-cell recovery criteria have not been met) follow-up period. The total post treatment follow-up period is up to 2 years. The total duration of this extension study will be up to 8 years.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Signed informed consent prior to participation in the extension study.
  • Participants must have participated in either one of the two NEPTUNUS core studies, CVAY736A2301 or CVAY736A2302, and must have completed the entire treatment up to Week 48 without treatment discontinuation in core NEPTUNUS studies.
  • In the judgement of the Investigator, participants must be expected to clinically benefit from continued ianalumab therapy.

Exclusion criteria

  • Use of therapies excluded by the NEPTUNUS-1 and NEPTUNUS-2 study protocols (see NEPTUNUS studies protocols exclusion criteria in Section 5.2 for details).
  • Plans for administration of live vaccines during the study period.
  • Pregnant or nursing (breastfeeding) women, where pregnancy is defined as the state of a female after conception and until the termination of gestation, confirmed by a positive human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) laboratory test.
  • Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP), defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant, from menarche until becoming post-menopausal, unless they have had surgical bilateral oophorectomy (with or without hysterectomy), total hysterectomy or bilateral salpingectomy at least six weeks before taking study treatment. In the case of oophorectomy alone, the reproductive status of the woman needs to have been confirmed by follow-up hormone level assessment. Women are considered post-menopausal if they have had 12 months of natural (spontaneous) amenorrhea with an appropriate clinical profile (e.g., hormonal profile confirming menopause and/or age-appropriate history of vasomotor symptoms).

WOCBP are excluded unless they are using highly effective methods of contraception (failure rate < 1% per year) while taking study treatment during dosing and for 6 months after stopping of investigational drug. Highly effective contraception methods include:

  • Total abstinence (when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the participant. Periodic abstinence (e.g., calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, post- ovulation methods) and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception.
  • Bilateral tubal occlusion or bilateral tubal ligation (at least six weeks before taking study treatment).
  • Sterilization (vasectomy) of male partner (s) of the female participant at least 6 months prior to screening provided partner(s) has(have) received medical confirmation of surgical process.
  • Use of hormonal contraception methods:
  • Combined (estrogen and progestogen-containing) hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation; oral, intravaginal or transdermal.
  • Progestogen-only hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation: oral, injectable or implantable.
  • Intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine hormone-releasing system (IUS) In case of use of oral contraception women should have been stable on the same pill for a minimum of 3 months before taking study treatment.

Contraception should be used in accordance with locally approved prescribing information of concomitant medications administered.

If local regulations are more stringent than the contraception methods listed above, local regulations apply and will be described in the informed consent form (ICF).

  • United States (and other countries, if male contraception is locally required): Sexually active males, unless they agree to use barrier protection during intercourse with a woman of child-bearing potential, while taking study treatment. As condom use alone has a reported failure rate exceeding 1% per year, it is recommended that female partners of male study participants use a second method of birth control. Although ianalumab is not teratogenic and/or genotoxic, and not transferred to semen, male contraception is required, as requested by FDA.

Globally, for all sexually active males, contraception should be used in accordance with the locally approved prescribing information of concomitant medications administered.

Treatment and study plan

Ianalumab (VAY736)

Drug

Ianalumab 300 mg / 2 mL, PFS or AI, monthly or every 3 months, solution for injection for subcutaneous use

Other names: VAY736

Placebo

Other

Placebo 0 mg/2 mL PFS or AI, once monthly between doses of Ianalumab 3 monthly , solution for injection for subcutaneous Use

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs)/SAEs

    Time frame: Week 52 to Week 464

    Assessment of safety and tolerability of ianalumab (VAY736) in patients with active Sjogrens syndrome

Secondary outcomes

  1. Percentage of participants achieving ≥ 5 points reduction from baseline in ESSDAI

    Time frame: Over time up to Week 360

    EULAR Sjogren's syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI) is a validated clinical disease outcome measure for Sjogrens that will be used in the study The instrument contains 12 organ-specific domains contributing to assessment of disease activity. For each domain, features of disease activity are scored by a clinician in 3 or 4 (Level 0=No disease activity to Level 3= high disease activity) levels according to their severity. These scores are then summed across the 12 domains in a weighted manner to provide the total score. The maximum possible score is 123.To calculate ESSDAI, all 12 organ domains must be individually assessed by a trained assessor (study Investigator) at every scheduled timepoint. This is to evaluate the long-term efficacy of VAY736 300 mg administered monthly or every 3 months.

  2. Percentage of participants achieving ≥2.3 points reduction from baseline in ESSPRI among participants with baseline ESSPRI ≥3 score over time

    Time frame: Over time up to Week 360

    The EULAR Sjogren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) questionnaire consists of three items to be given an activity level score between 0-10: pain (joint and/or muscle pain), fatigue and dryness (0 = no symptom at all and 10 = worst symptom imaginable

    ESSPRI is an established disease outcome measure for Sjogrens. It consists of three domains of dryness, pain and fatigue. The participant will assess severity of symptoms they experience on a single 0-10 numerical scale for each of the three domains. The ESSPRI score is defined as a mean of scores from the three scales: (dryness + pain + fatigue) /3.

  3. Percentage of participants achieving ≥2.0 points reduction from baseline in SSSD among participants with baseline SSSD ≥3

    Time frame: Over time up to Week 360

    The Sjogrens Syndrome Symptom Diary (SSSD) questionnaire consists of five (six for females) questions about symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome, each question given a score of 0-10 (0=no symptoms, 10=worst possible symptoms) where patient choose the one response that best describes how severe the symptom was at its worst in the PAST 24 HOURS. It includes six symptom items (eye dryness, mouth dryness, skin dryness, physical fatigue, muscle and/or joint pain, genital dryness), and applies a recall period of 24 hrs. The aim of the SSSD is to establish patient reported endpoints for the treatment of Sjogrens syndrome. Participants will complete the diary daily for 7 days prior to the scheduled dosing.

  4. Pre-dose Ianalumab serum concentrations

    Time frame: pre-dose at Week 48 (from core study) and Week 64

    To show comparability of ianalumab Ctrough between 2x 1 mL PFS (from the NEPTUNUS core studies) and 1x 2 mL PFS for participants on continuous monthly treatment.

  5. On-treatment Ianalumab serum concentrations

    Time frame: During treatment (from Week 52 to Week 204) and follow-up (From Week 208 to Week 304)

    To further assess the pharmacokinetics of ianalumab.

  6. B-cell count measurement

    Time frame: Week 52 to Week 304

    To assess impact of long-term treatment on B-cell depletion.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Industry

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized, Double-blind 2-arm, Followed by an Open-label 1-arm, NEPTUNUS Extension Study to Assess the Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Ianalumab in Patients With Sjögren's Syndrome

Acronym: NEPTUNUS-Ext

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2033
Study completion
2033
First posted
Aug 14, 2023
Registry last updated
Jul 8, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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