Clinical trial NCT03591575: Safety and Efficacy of Early Treatment With Deferiprone in Infants and Young Children
Official title: Safety and Efficacy of Early-start Deferiprone Treatment in Infants and Young Children Newly Diagnosed With Transfusion-dependent Beta Thalassemia
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Beta Thalassemia Major Anemia
Iron Overload
Keywords: thalassemia
iron overload
chelation
deferiprone
Ferriprox
Lead sponsor: Chiesi Canada Corp
Sponsor class: INDUSTRY
First posted: 2018-07-19
Enrollment: 64
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 6
Maximum age (years): 9
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study is looking at the effects of giving early treatment of deferiprone to young children with beta thalassemia who have started receiving regular blood transfusions but have not yet reached the criteria for starting on iron chelation therapy. Half the patients in the study will receive deferiprone, and the other half will receive placebo, for up to 12 months.

Detailed description: This study will give deferiprone to infants and young children with thalassemia who have started receiving regular blood transfusions but whose iron load is not yet at the level where chelation treatment would normally begin. The purpose is to see if doing this will postpone the build-up of iron without causing serious side effects. Half the children in the study will be given deferiprone at a dose that is lower than what is normally prescribed, and the other half will be given placebo. All patients will receive the assigned product three times a day for up to 12 months. Tests for signs of iron overload will be done monthly, and a patient whose iron load reaches the level where chelation therapy would normally begin will be immediately taken out of the study and started on standard chelation therapy.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male or female aged ≥ 6 months to \< 10 years
2. Confirmed diagnosis of beta-thalassemia, as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or DNA testing
3. Started on a red blood cell (RBC) transfusion regimen, with a minimum of 2 transfusions already completed
4. Screening level of serum ferritin (SF) greater than \>200 μg/L but not more than 600 μg/L. Since SF level may be impacted by the presence of infection, it must additionally be verified that the child has had no signs of infection in the previous 7 days, including the day of screening, and that the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) is no greater than 20% higher than the normal range for the patient's age. If there are signs of infection and/or the CRP level is above this threshold, the SF level must be checked again a minimum of one week later.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prior use of iron chelation
2. Diagnosis of hepatitis B or C, or HIV infection
3. Evidence of abnormal liver or kidney function at screening: serum alanine transaminase (ALT) level \> 5 times upper limit of normal or creatinine levels \>2 times upper limit of normal
4. Disorders associated with neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count \< 1.5 x 10\^9/L) prior to the initiation of study medication
5. A serious, unstable illness, as judged by the investigator, during the previous 3 months before screening/baseline visit including but not limited to hepatic, renal, gastro-enterologic, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrinologic, neurologic or immunologic disease.
6. Presence of any medical condition which in the opinion of the investigator would cause participation in the study to be unwise.

Primary outcomes:
measure: The Percentage of Patients in Each Treatment Group Who Still Have a Serum Ferritin Level < 1000 Micrograms Per Liter (μg/L) at Month 12
timeFrame: 12 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Percentage of Patients With Serum Ferritin Still Below the Threshold at Different Time Points
timeFrame: 4, 8, and 12 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Cairo
country: Egypt
facility: Ain Shams University Children's Hospital
city: Cairo
country: Egypt
facility: Pediatric Hospital of Cairo University
city: Cairo
country: Egypt
facility: The Clinical Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University
city: Jakarta
country: Indonesia
facility: Cipto Mangunkusumo National Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Ain Shams University
name: Mohsen El Alfy, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: