The PET radioligand [11C]CHDI-00491009 will be evaluated for its suitability for use in clinical research to quantify mHTT aggregates in PwHD. The PET radioligand is administered as a microdose of <0.5 μg and will not be administered at pharmacological doses. This study has an adaptive and modular design with three consecutive cohorts. The execution of each cohort is dependent on results from the previous cohort.
Cohort 1- Screening and imaging of 3 HCs followed by an interim analysis to evaluate the tracer kinetics without target expression (mHTT) to identify potential brain penetrating radiometabolites or other issues that may interfere with accurate quantification. If the kinetics are found to be favorable during the IA and there are no other confounding issues that may interfere with accurate quantification, then the study will proceed to target validation with Cohort 2.
Cohort 2- Screening and imaging of 6 HD-ISS Stage 3 participants and 6 age and biological sex-matched HCs. 3 HCs and 3 HD participants from Cohort 2 will be imaged twice to determine variability between scans (test-retest; TRT). An IA will be conducted after completion of Cohort 2 that will establish the optimal method for quantification of signal and endpoint, as well as evaluating the tracer binding in HD compared to HC participants and determining the TRT reproducibility. Results will then be reviewed and a go/no-go decision will be made; if [11C]CHDI-00491009 demonstrates favorable kinetic and binding properties and go criteria are met, the study will proceed to Cohort 3 evaluation. Otherwise, the study will be terminated.
Cohort 3- Screening and imaging of 6 HD-ISS Stage 2 participants and 6 age and biological sex-matched HCs. An IA will be conducted after completion of Cohort 3 to evaluate binding in HD compared to HC participants.
This adaptive study design allows for review and analysis after each cohort. The progression through each level of analysis will indicate whether [11C]CHDI-00491009 is a suitable radioligand to measure mHTT aggregate levels with sufficient sensitivity to become a potential disease progression and efficacy biomarker in Huntington's disease.