Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Phase I, open-label, dose-escalation study of the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and efficacy of GSK2879552 in relapsed/refractory SCLC

INTRODUCTION: This first-time-in-humans study assessed the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and clinical activity of GSK2879552 in patients with relapsed or refractory SCLC. METHODS: This phase I, multicenter, open-label study (NCT02034123) enrolled patients (≥18 years old) with relapsed or refractory SCLC (after ≥1 platinum-containing chemotherapy or refusal of standard therapy). Part 1 was a dose-escalation study; Part 2 was a dose-expansion study. Dose escalations were based on safety, PK, and PD. The primary end point (Part 1) was to determine the safety, tolerability, and recommended dose and regimen of GSK2879552. Secondary end points were to characterize PK and PD parameters and measure disease control rate at week 16. Part 2 was not conducted. RESULTS: Between February 4, 2014, and April 18, 2017, a total of 29 patients were allocated to one of nine dose cohorts (0.25 mg-3 mg once daily and 3-mg or 4-mg intermittent dosing). In all, 22 patients completed the study; 7 withdrew, primarily owing to adverse events (AEs). Most patients (24 of 29 [83%]) had at least one treatment-related AE, most commonly thrombocytopenia (12 of 29 [41%]). Twelve serious AEs (SAEs) were reported by nine patients; six were considered treatment related, the most common of which was encephalopathy (four SAEs). Three patients died; one death was related to SAEs. PK was characterized by rapid absorption, slow elimination, and a dose-proportional increase in exposure. CONCLUSIONS: GSK2879552 is a potent, selective inhibitor of lysine demethylase 1A and has demonstrated favorable PK properties but provided poor disease control and a high AE rate in patients with SCLC. The study was terminated, as the risk-benefit profile did not favor continuation

Lysine specific demethylase 1 inactivation enhances differentiation and promotes cytotoxic response when combined with all-trans retinoic acid in acute myeloid leukemia across subtypes

Lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is a histone modifying enzyme that suppresses gene expression through demethylation of lysine 4 on histone H3. The anti-tumor activity of GSK2879552 and GSK-LSD1, potent, selective irreversible inactivators of LSD1, has previously been described. Inhibition of LSD1 results in a cytostatic growth inhibitory effect in a range of acute myeloid leukemia cell lines. To enhance the therapeutic potential of LSD1 inhibition in this disease setting, a combination of LSD1 inhibition and all-trans retinoic acid was explored. All-trans retinoic acid is currently approved for use in acute promyelocytic leukemia in which it promotes differentiation of abnormal blast cells into normal white blood cells. Combined treatment with all-trans retinoic acid and GSK2879552 results in synergistic effects on cell proliferation, markers of differentiation, and, most importantly, cytotoxicity. Ultimately the combination potential for LSD1 inhibition and ATRA will require validation in acute myeloid leukemia patients, and clinical studies to assess this are currently underway

Belantamab mafodotin in combination with novel agents in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: DREAMM-5 study design

Belantamab mafodotin (belamaf) is a BCMA-targeted antibody-drug conjugate recently approved as monotherapy for adults with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who have received ≥4 prior therapies. Belamaf binds to BCMA and eliminates myeloma cells by multimodal mechanisms of action. The cytotoxic and potential immunomodulatory properties of belamaf have led to novel combination studies with other anticancer therapies. Here, we describe the rationale and design of DREAMM-5, an ongoing Phase I/II platform study evaluating the safety and efficacy of belamaf combined with novel agents, including GSK3174998 (OX40 agonist), feladilimab (an ICOS; GSK3359609), nirogacestat (a gamma-secretase inhibitor; PF-03084014) and dostarlimab (a PD-1 blocker) versus belamaf monotherapy for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Clinical trial registration: NCT04126200 (ClinicalTrials.gov)