Study of Efficacy and Safety of MBG453 in Combination With Azacitidine in Subjects With Intermediate, High or Very High Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) as Per IPSS-R, or Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia-2 (CMML-2)

This is a Phase III multi-center, randomized, two-arm parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of MBG453 or placebo added to azacitidine in adult subjects with intermediate, high or very high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as per IPSS-R, or Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia-2 (CMML-2) who are not eligible for intensive chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) according to medical judgment by the investigator.

The purpose of the current study is to assess clinical effects of MBG453 in combination with azacytidine in adult subjects with IPSS-R intermediate, high, very high risk MDS and CMML-2.

This is a Phase III multi-center, randomized, two-arm parallel-group, double-blind, placebo controlled study of MBG453 or placebo added to azacitidine in adult subjects with intermediate, high or very high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as per IPSS-R, or Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia-2 (CMML-2).

The primary objective of this study is to compare overall survival (OS) in the MBG453 plus azacitidine arm versus placebo plus azacitidine arm where OS is the time from randomization until death due to any cause.

Subjects will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to treatment arms as follow: MBG453 800 mg IV Q4W plus azacitidine, Placebo IV Q4W plus azacitidine The randomization will be stratified into 4 groups: intermediate risk MDS, high risk MDS, very high risk MDS and CMML-2.

All subjects who discontinue both study treatments will enter a long-term post-treatment follow-up including response and PRO assessments, and/or survival follow-up for up to 5 years after the last subject was randomized.

Subjects will be treated until they experience progression of disease (including transformation to acute leukemia per WHO 2016 classification), experience unacceptable toxicity or discontinue the study treatment for other reasons.

Continuation of study treatment beyond progression (excluding transformation to acute leukemia: continuation in this case is not possible) may be possible in selected subjects.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Signed informed consent must be obtained prior to participation in the study
* Age ≥ 18 years at the date of signing the informed consent form
* Morphologically confirmed diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) based on WHO 2016 classification (Arber et al 2016) by local investigator assessment with one of the following Prognostic Risk Categories, based on the revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R):

  * Very high (\> 6 points)
  * High (\> 4.5 - ≤ 6 points)
  * Intermediate (\> 3 - ≤ 4.5 points) Or Morphologically confirmed diagnosis of Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia -2 based on WHO 2016 classification (Arber et al 2016, including persistent monocytosis) by local investigator assessment with WBC \< 13 x 109/L at time of initial diagnosis
* Indication for azacitidine treatment according to the investigator, based on local standard medical practice and institutional guidelines for treatment decisions
* Not eligible at time of screening for intensive chemotherapy according to the investigator, based on local standard medical practice and institutional guidelines for treatment decisions, including assessment of individual clinical factors such as age, comorbidities and performance status
* Not eligible at time of screening for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) according to the investigator, based on local standard medical practice and institutional guidelines for treatment decisions, including assessment of individual clinical factors such as age, comorbidities, performance status, and donor availability
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1 or 2

Exclusion Criteria:

* Prior exposure to TIM-3 directed therapy at any time. Prior therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g, anti-CTLA4, anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-PD-L2), cancer vaccines is allowed except if the drug was administered within 4 months prior to randomization
* Previous first-line treatment for intermediate, high, very high risk myelodysplastic syndromes (based on IPSS-R) or CMML with any antineoplastic agents including for example chemotherapy, lenalidomide and hypomethylating agents (HMAs) such as decitibine and azacitidine. However, previous treatment with hydroxyurea or leukopheresis to reduce WBC count is allowed prior to randomization.
* Investigational treatment received within 4 weeks or 5 half-lives of this investigational treatment, whatever is longer, prior to randomization. In case of a checkpoint inhibitor: a minimal interval of 4 months prior to randomization is necessary to allow randomization.
* Subjects with Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) based on 2016 WHO classification (Arber et al 2016) with revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) ≤ 3
* Diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) including acute promyelocytic leukemia and extra-medullary acute myeloid leukemia, primary or secondary myelofibrosis based on WHO 2016 classification (Arber et al 2016)
* Diagnosis of therapy related myeloid neoplasms based on WHO 2016 classification (Arber et al 2016)
* History of organ or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant

Other protocol-defined Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria may apply.