Conditions: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 16
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of a high (80mg/kg) and low (40mg/kg) dose of NS-065/NCNP-01 delivered as an intravenous infusion in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) amendable to exon 53 skipping. Additional objectives include tolerability, muscle function and strength, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Detailed description:
This is a Phase II, multiple center, 2-period, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose finding study of NS-065/NCNP-01 administered by infusion once weekly for 24 weeks to ambulant boys ages 4-\<10 years with DMD. Two dose level cohorts will be enrolled. Period 1 of this study will be conducted in a double-blind fashion. Randomized patients will receive weekly IV infusions of NS-065/NCNP-01 or placebo for the first 4 weeks of their participation (Period 1) and NS-065/NCNP-01 by IV infusion for weeks 5-24 (20 weeks of active treatment - Period 2). Analysis of safety data from Period 1 of the 40mg/kg dose cohort will be completed prior to enrolling patients in the 80mg/kg dose cohort.

Patients completing the 24-week study will be eligible for an open-label extension study.

Clinical efficacy will be assessed at regularly scheduled study visits, including functional tests such as the six-minute walk test (6MWT), time to stand (TTSTAND), time to run/walk 10 meters (TTRW), time to climb 4 stairs (TTCLIMB) and quantitative muscle testing (QMT). All patients will undergo a muscle biopsy of the bicep at baseline and a second muscle biopsy at Week 24.

Safety will be assessed through the collection of adverse events (AEs), blood and urine laboratory tests, electrocardiograms (ECGs), vital signs, and physical examinations throughout the study.

Serial blood samples will be taken at four of the study visits to assess the pharmacokinetics of the study drug.

Arms:
arm 1: Six patients with confirmed DMD with genetic deletions amenable to exon 53 skipping will be administered an intravenous infusion of NS-065/NCNP-01 40mg/kg dose once a week for 24 weeks arm 2: Six patients with confirmed DMD with genetic deletions amenable to exon 53 skipping will be administered an intravenous infusion of NS-065/NCNP-01 80mg/kg once a week for 24 weeks arm 3: Two patients in each of the dose groups will be administered placebo as an intravenous infusion once a week for 4 weeks followed by 20 weeks of open label treatment

Interventions: intervention 1: NS-065/NCNP-01 intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: None intervention 2: None

Protocol document:
Prot_SAP_000.pdf: 
NCT02740972