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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05842954

Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of KLU156 in Adults and Children With Uncomplicated P. Falciparum Malaria

This study aims to confirm the efficacy, safety and tolerability of KLU156, a fixed dose combination of ganaplacide (KAF156) and a solid dispersion formulation of lumefantrine (lumefantrine-SDF), when administered once daily for three days in adults and children ≥ 10 kg of body weight suffering from uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection).

In the Extension phase, the safety, tolerability and efficacy of repeated treatment with KLU156 will be assessed for a maximum of two years in patients who did not experience early treatment failure (ETF), who did not experience any study treatment-related SAE (Serious Adverse Event) previously and who gave informed consent to participate in the Extension phase.

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Key information

Age range

2 month–100 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 3

Primary location

Novartis Investigative Site, Banfora, Burkina Faso

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About this study

The purpose of this study is to confirm the efficacy, safety and tolerability of KLU156 in patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection) by demonstrating that KLU156 is non-inferior to Coartem.

  • The study duration will be 43 days (Core phase) plus up to 24 months (Extension phase).
  • The treatment duration will be 3 days for each malaria episode.
  • The visit frequency will be Days 1-3 (hospitalized) and 5 follow-up visits (Days 4, 8, 22, 29 and 43) in the Core phase and Days 1-3 (hospitalized) and 3 follow-up visits (Days 4, 8 and 29) in the Extension phase.

This study has two different primary outcomes depending on the submission (US New Drug Application (NDA) or non-US submissions).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Key Inclusion criteria (Core phase)

  • Male or female patients ≥ 10 kg of body weight.
  • Microscopically confirmed diagnosis of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria with an asexual P. falciparum parasitemia ≥ 1,000 and ≤ 200,000 parasites/µL at the time of pre-screening with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection.
  • Axillary temperature ≥ 37.5 ºC or oral temperature ≥ 38.0 ºC or tympanic/rectal temperature ≥ 38.5 ºC; or history of fever during the previous 24 hours (at least documented verbally)
  • Negative pregnancy test for patients of childbearing potential
  • Signed informed consent must be obtained before any assessment is performed; for minors, signed informed consent must be obtained from parent/legal guardian. If the parent/legal guardian is unable to read and write, then a witnessed consent according to local ethical standards is permitted. Patients who are capable of providing assent, must provide it along with parent/legal guardian consent or as per local ethical standards
  • The patient and/or their parent/legal guardian is able to understand and comply with protocol requirements, instructions and protocol-stated restrictions and is likely to complete the study as planned.

Key Exclusion criteria (Core phase)

  • Signs and symptoms of severe malaria according to WHO 2015 (World Health Organization)
  • Concurrent febrile illnesses (e.g., typhoid fever, known or suspected dengue fever, known COVID19)
  • Severe malnutrition. For patients ≥ 12 years: body mass index (BMI) < 16.0. For children < 12 years: less than 70% of median normalized WHO reference weight or very low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC < 115 mm)
  • Repeated vomiting (defined as > 3 times in the 24 hours prior to start of screening) or severe diarrhea (defined as > 3 watery stools in the 24 hours prior to start of screening)
  • Clinically relevant abnormalities of electrolyte balance which require correction, e.g., hypokalemia, hypocalcemia or hypomagnesemia
  • Anemia (hemoglobin level <7 g/dL)
  • Any surgical or medical condition which might significantly alter the absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion of drugs (e.g., Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) or tuberculosis (TB) patients on treatment), or which may jeopardize the patient in case of participation in the study.
  • Any of the following:
  • Aspartate Aminotransferase/ Alanine Aminotransferase (AST/ALT) > 3 x the upper limit of normal (ULN), regardless of the level of total bilirubin
  • Total bilirubin > 3 x ULN
  • Resting QT interval corrected by Fridericia's formula (QTcF) > 450 ms at screening
  • Prior antimalarial therapy or antibiotics with antimalarial activity within minimum of their five plasma half-lives (or within 4 weeks of screening if half-life is unknown)
  • History or family history of long QT syndrome or sudden cardiac death, or any other clinical condition known to prolong the QTc interval, such as history of symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias, clinically relevant bradycardia or severe heart disease
  • Pregnant or nursing (lactating) patients.

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

Treatment and study plan

KLU156

Drug

Oral use. KLU156 (400/480 mg) is the dose for patients with a bodyweight ≥ 35kg. Patients < 35kg will take a fraction of the dose according to weight group as defined in the protocol.

Coartem

Drug

Oral use. Dosing will be selected based on patient's body weight as per product's label.

Primary outcomes

  1. PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR)

    Time frame: Day 29 (i.e., 28 days post-first dose administration)

    To confirm the efficacy of KLU156 in adults and children ≥ 10 kg of body weight suffering from uncomplicated malaria caused by P. falciparum (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection) by demonstrating that KLU156 is non-inferior to Coartem (non-inferiority margin = 5%) based on the PCR-corrected ACPR at Day 29. This primary outcome is applicable to non-US submission.

  2. Uncorrected ACPR (US NDA submission)

    Time frame: Day 29

    To further confirm the efficacy of KLU156 by demonstrating non-inferiority of KLU156 to Coartem (NI margin 7.5%) based on the uncorrected ACPR at Day 29. This primary outcome is applicable to US New Drug Application (NDA) submission.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Uncorrected ACPR

    Time frame: Day 29

    To further confirm the efficacy of KLU156 by demonstrating non-inferiority of KLU156 to Coartem (NI margin 7.5%) based on the uncorrected ACPR at Day 29

  2. PCR-corrected and uncorrected ACPR

    Time frame: Days 22 and 43 (i.e., 21 and 42 days post-first dose administration)

    To confirm the efficacy of KLU156 by assessing uncorrected and PCR-corrected ACPR at additional time points

  3. Incidence rate of recrudescence and new infection

    Time frame: Days 22, 29 and 43

    Proportion of patients with recrudescence and new infections between the two treatment arms

  4. Fever Clearance Time

    Time frame: Up to Day 3

    To confirm the efficacy of KLU156 by assessing fever clearance between the two treatment arms

  5. Parasite Clearance Time

    Time frame: Up to Day 3

    To assess parasite clearance time between the two treatment arms

  6. Gametocyte Clearance Time

    Time frame: Up to Day 3

    To confirm the efficacy of KLU156 by assessing gametocyte clearance between the two treatment arms

  7. Proportion of patients with parasitemia

    Time frame: 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after treatment

    For the parasitemia assessment, blood sampling can be done by means of a finger prick except when the timing for parasitology assessments coincides with time for clinical laboratory tests, in which case, blood sample can be taken from the venous blood collected for clinical laboratory analyses.

  8. Gametocytemia

    Time frame: From baseline up to Day 43

    Disappearance or development of gametocytemia in patients with or without gametocytemia at baseline (pre-first dose administration), respectively

  9. Incidence and severity of Adverse Events (AEs) and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs)

    Time frame: Day 43

    Incidence and severity of AEs and SAEs by treatment group, including changes in vital signs, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and laboratory results qualifying and reported as AEs.

  10. Extension phase: PCR-corrected and uncorrected ACPR

    Time frame: Day 29 of malaria episode

    To evaluate efficacy over repeated treatment with KLU156 in adults and children ≥ 10 kg of body weight suffering from uncomplicated malaria caused by P. falciparum (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection) for a maximum of 2 years

  11. Extension phase: KLU156-related AE/SAE incidence and severity by malaria episode

    Time frame: Up to 2 years

    To assess the safety and tolerability over repeated treatment with KLU156 in adults and children ≥ 10 kg of body weight suffering from uncomplicated malaria caused by P. falciparum (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection) for a maximum of 2 years

  12. Extension phase: Gametocyte carriage over time

    Time frame: Up to 2 years

    To assess gametocyte carriage over time by malaria episode in the extension phase

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Industry

Collaborators

  • Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), EDCTP, WANECAM

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized, Open-label, Multicenter Study to Compare Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of KLU156 With Coartem® in the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria in Adults and Children Followed by an Extension Phase With Repeated KLU156 Treatment

Acronym: KALUMA

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
May 6, 2023
Registry last updated
Jan 27, 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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