efficacy and safety of losmapimod in subjects with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (fshd)

Conditions: Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD)

Summary: this is a study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of losmapimod in treating patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (fshd) over 48 weeks.

this study is a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of losmapimod in treating patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (fshd) over 48 weeks. patients will participate in this study for approximately 53 weeks. this will include a 4-week screening period, a 48-week, placebo-controlled treatment period and a 7 day safety follow-up period. patients must have a confirmed diagnosis of fshd1 and genetic confirmation must be obtained prior to the screening mri and baseline muscle biopsy. patients will be randomized to receive 15 mg of losmapimod or placebo twice daily given as two 7.5 mg tablets per dose by mouth; for a total of 4 pills or 30 mg daily for 48 weeks. all patients will be asked to attend the study clinic for each scheduled visit. the primary endpoint of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of losmapimod in inhibiting or reducing expression of dux4, as measured by a subset of dux4-regulated gene transcripts in skeletal muscle biopsies of fshd patients. secondary endpoints include evaluation of the safety and tolerability of losmapimod, the plasma concentrations of losmapimod, levels of losmapimod in skeletal muscle and losmapimod target engagement in blood and skeletal muscle in fshd patients. this study was conducted during the coronavirus disease-2019 (covid-19) pandemic. the pandemic restrictions limited some assessments in the fshd1 population in the clinic, including collection of some data for week 24.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * the patient must have consented to participate and must have provided signed, dated and witnessed irb-approved informed consent form that conforms to federal and institutional guidelines. * male or female subjects * confirmed diagnosis of fshd1 with 1 to 9 repeats via assessment of the size of the d4z4 array on chromosome 4. genetic confirmation must be obtained prior to the screening mri and baseline muscle biopsy. * clinical severity score of 2 to 4 (ricci score; range 0-5), inclusive at screening * must have a mri-eligible muscle for biopsy * must be willing and able to comply with scheduled visits, treatment plan, study restrictions, laboratory tests, contraceptive guidelines and other study procedures. * will practice an approved method of birth control exclusion criteria: * has a history of any illness or any clinical condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, might confound the results of the study or pose an additional risk in administering study drug to the subject. this may include, but is not limited to, a history of relevant drug or food allergies; history of cardiovascular or central nervous system disease; neuromuscular diseases except fshd (eg, myopathy, neuropathy, neuromuscular junction disorders); or clinically significant history of mental disease. * for subjects who are on drug(s) or supplements that may affect muscle function, as determined by the treating physician, or that are included in the list of drugs presented in the protocol, subjects must be on a stable dose of that drug(s) or supplement for at least 3 months prior to the first dose of study drug and remain on that stable dose for the duration of the study. changes to the dose or treatment discontinuation during the study can only be done for strict medical reasons by the treating physician with clear documentation and notification to the sponsor. * acute or chronic history of liver disease or known to have current alanine aminotransferase ≥2 × upper limit of normal (uln) or total bilirubin \>1.5 × uln, or known history of hepatitis b or c. * known severe renal impairment (defined as a glomerular filtration rate of \<30 ml/min/1.73m2). * positive screen for hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag), hepatitis c virus (hcv) antibody, or antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)-1 and -2. * male subjects with a female partner who is planning to become pregnant during the study or within 90 days after the last dose of study drug. * use of another investigational product within 30 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer), or according to local regulations, or currently participating in a study with an investigational product. note: concurrent participation in other non-drug studies may be acceptable if confirmed in writing by the sponsor.

Keywords: fshd, fshd1 muscular dystrophies muscular dystrophy facioscapulohumeral muscular disorders musculoskeletal diseases neuromuscular diseases