A Study Exploring Efficacy of Peginterferon in Patients With Herpes Zoster

This trial is a multicenter, randomized, active drug-controlled, dose-finding phase II clinical study. A total of 5 experimental groups and 1 positive drug control group were set up to evaluate the efficacy, optimal dose and efficacy trend of multiple subcutaneous injections of peginterferon α1b in patients with herpes zoster, and provide support for phase III clinical trials.

Inclusion criteria

• Subjects must give informed consent to the study and agree to participate and give written consent before the study;
• 18 Years to 75 Years （Including 18 and 75 years old），Male or Female;
• Pain VAS score≥3;
• Patients with clinical diagnosis of Herpes Zoster，According to the Chinese Expert Consensus on Herpes zoster (2018) (the rash was asymmetric, unilateral erythematous or maculopapular rash, or clusters of small blisters could appear, and the blister fluid was clear or became cloudy), the appearance of herpes zoster was determined within 3 days (72 hours).

Exclusion criteria

• Allergic constitution or history of allergy or known allergy to the test drug product or any component;
• Clinically diagnosed as herpes zoster without rash, disseminated herpes zoster; ear herpes zoster; ocular herpes zoster; with symptoms of viral encephalitis and meningitis; with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis and cystitis; Herpes zoster patients with hemorrhagic, gangrenous clinical manifestations, etc;
• Herpes site with neuralgia caused by other diseases;
• History of serious heart disease, including unstable or uncontrolled angina within 6 months, history of myocardial infarction and other heart disease, epilepsy and other central nervous system disorders, history of autoimmune hepatitis or autoimmune disease, severe liver function Impaired or decompensated cirrhosis, severe mental illness or medical history;
• During the screening period, Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) >2.5 fold ULN;Platelet count <90×109/L;Hemoglobin: male<110g/L，female<100g/L;White blood cell count <3.5×109/L、neutrophil count <1.5×109/L;Renal insufficiency（Cr>1.5 fold ULN and creatinine clearance <60 mL/min），abnormal thyroid function test, positive hepatitis B surface antigen, positive hepatitis C antibody, positive treponema pallidum antibody or positive HIV antibody test in serum virology;
• Previous history of psoriasis;
• Previous organ transplant recipients;
• Patients with active hemorrhagic disease, or severe hematopoietic abnormalities or coagulation disorders within 2 weeks prior to screening;
• Patients with previous history of malignant tumor;
• Patients with a history of severe retinal disease;
• Have received live attenuated vaccine (hepatitis B vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, tetanus vaccine, rabies virus vaccine, cervical cancer vaccine, etc.) within 3 months before screening or planned to receive live attenuated vaccine (hepatitis B vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, tetanus vaccine, rabies virus vaccine, cervical cancer vaccine, etc.) during the trial; have received COVID-19 vaccine within 2 weeks before screening or planned to receive COVID-19 vaccine during the trial;
• Lactating women, blood pregnancy positive subjects (female subjects only), male subjects (or their partners) or female subjects had pregnancy plans or sperm or egg donation plans from 30 days before the study to 3 months after the end of the study and were unwilling to take effective contraceptive measures;
• Participated in any drug or device clinical investigator within 3 months prior to screening;
• Need for driving or precision instrument operation during the study period;
• Within 1 month or 5 half-lives (whichever is the longest) before screening, drugs with therapeutic effect on herpes zoster have been systematically used: interferon, antiviral drugs, immune modulators, glucocorticoids, traditional Chinese medicine/patent medicine, neurotrophic drugs, drugs containing theophylline, etc;
• The patients who had been treated with topical drugs for herpes zoster within 2 weeks before the screening were selected;
• The investigators considered it inappropriate to participate in this study.