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NCT Number: NCT04725474

First-in-Human Study of the GDF-15 Neutralizing Antibody Visugromab (CTL-002) in Patients With Advanced Cancer (GDFATHER)

The Phase 1 part (Part A) is a dose escalation study of IV visugromab (CTL-002, a monoclonal antibody neutralizing GDF-15) as monotherapy and in combination with an approved checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Enrolment into the Ph 1 part is completed.

The Phase 2 parts (Part B) are cohort expansions with visugromab (CTL-002) in combination with a defined CPI at a fixed dose into seven different solid tumor indications.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

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Key information

Conditions

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 1 / Phase 2

Primary location

Universitätsklinikum Essen, Westdeutsches Tumorzentrum, Innere Klinik und Poliklinik, Essen, Germany

Loading trial locations.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Main Inclusion Criteria:

  • Signed and dated informed consent, and able to comply with the study procedures and any locally required authorization.
  • Male or female aged ≥ 18 years.
  • Relapsed/refractory patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced-stage or recurrent cancer (Germany-specific: and have exhausted all standard of care treatments or are not eligible for such treatments)
  • Progressed on/relapsed after at least one prior anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment
  • Biopsy-accessible tumor lesions and willing to undergo triple sequential tumor biopsy (Part A) and dual biopsy (Part B, only for selected cohorts).
  • At least 1 radiologically measurable lesion per RECIST V1.1/imRECIST (Part B).
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1.
  • Life expectancy > 3 months as assessed by the Investigator.
  • Adequate organ function (bone marrow, hepatic, renal function and coagulation).

Main Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • Any tumor-directed therapy within 21 days before study treatment.
  • Treatment with investigational agent within 21 days before study treatment.
  • Radiotherapy within 14 days before study treatment.
  • Pre-existing arrhythmia, uncontrolled angina pectoris, uncontrolled heart failure (NYHA) Grade IV, any myocardial infarction/coronary event, CNS-ischemic event and any thromboembolic event at any time < 6 months prior to Screening or presence of any uncontrolled heart failure NYHA Grade III or higher.
  • Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50% measured by echocardiogram or MUGA.
  • QTcF > 450 ms for men or > 470 ms for women.
  • Any active autoimmune requiring systemic immunosuppressive treatments. .
  • Any history of non-infectious pneumonitis < 6 months prior to Screening.
  • Any active inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis which are generally excluded or active autoimmunthyroiditis present < 6 months prior to Screening.
  • History of CNS disease such as stroke, seizure, encephalitis, or multiple sclerosis (< 6 months prior to Screening).
  • Evidence for active infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), tuberculosis (TB), or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Treatment and study plan

visugromab (CTL-002)

Biological

monoclonal antibody

Primary outcomes

  1. Adverse Events (Parts A & B)

    Time frame: min. 2 months

    Incidence of treatment emergent adverse events in monotherapy and/or combination therapy

  2. Determination of DLT and MTD (Part A)

    Time frame: 28 days

    Assessment of toxicities in monotherapy and/or combination therapy per dose level

  3. Evaluation of clinical efficacy according RECIST (Part B)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    RECIST is measured every 6-8 weeks treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Cmax following the first dose of CTL-002 (Part A & B)

    Time frame: 1 day

    PK parameter from serum CTL-002 levels

  2. AUC following the first dose of CTL-002 (Part A & B)

    Time frame: 14 days

    PK parameter from serum CTL-002 levels

  3. Half-life of CTL-002 (Part A & B)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    PK parameter from serum CTL-002 levels

  4. Evaluation of treatment-emergent cytokine/chemokine concentrations (Part A & B)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    Measurement of concentration in peripheral blood

  5. Evaluation of clinical efficacy according RECIST (Part A)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    RECIST is measured every 6-8 weeks during treatment

  6. Evaluation of appetite (Part A)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    Assessment of appetite via quality of life questionnaire

  7. Assessment of Body-Mass-Index (BMI) (kg/m2) (Part A)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    Calculation of BMI in kg/m2 by combining measurement of body weight in kg and body height in cm

  8. Assessment of lumbar vertebra skeletal muscle index (L3SMI) (cm2/m2) (Parts A & B)

    Time frame: min. 6 weeks

    Combining measurement of L3 vertebra skeletal muscle mass via computed tomography (CT) in cm2 and patient height (squared) in m2

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

CatalYm GmbH

Industry

Registry information

Official study title

A Phase 1/2, FIH, Two-part, Open-label Clinical Trial of Intravenous (IV) Administration of CTL-002 Given as Monotherapy and/or in Combination With an Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Inhibitor in Subjects With Advanced-stage, Relapsed/Refractory Solid Tumors (The "GDFATHER"-Trial: GDF-15 Antibody-mediaTed Human Effector Cell Relocation).

Acronym: GDFATHER

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2030
First posted
Jan 26, 2021
Registry last updated
Jan 12, 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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