Design of a Bayesian adaptive phase 2 proof-of-concept trial for BAN2401, a putative disease-modifying monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

AbstractIntroductionRecent failures in phase 3 clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggest that novel approaches to drug development are urgently needed. Phase 3 risk can be mitigated by ensuring that clinical efficacy is established before initiating confirmatory trials, but traditional phase 2 trials in AD can be lengthy and costly.MethodsWe designed a Bayesian adaptive phase 2, proof-of-concept trial with a clinical endpoint to evaluate BAN2401, a monoclonal antibody targeting amyloid protofibrils. The study design used dose response and longitudinal modeling. Simulations were used to refine study design features to achieve optimal operating characteristics.ResultsThe study design includes five active treatment arms plus placebo, a clinical outcome, 12-month primary endpoint, and a maximum sample size of 800. The average overall probability of success is ≥80% when at least one dose shows a treatment effect that would be considered clinically meaningful. Using frequent interim analyses, the randomization ratios are adapted based on the clinical endpoint, and the trial can be stopped for success or futility before full enrollment.DiscussionBayesian statistics can enhance the efficiency of analyzing the study data. The adaptive randomization generates more data on doses that appear to be more efficacious, which can improve dose selection for phase 3. The interim analyses permit stopping as soon as a predefined signal is detected, which can accelerate decision making. Both features can reduce the size and duration of the trial. This study design can mitigate some of the risks associated with advancing to phase 3 in the absence of data demonstrating clinical efficacy. Limitations to the approach are discussed

Managed Care-Work in Progress or Stalled Experiment?

The symptomatic drugs currently on the market for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have no effect on disease progression, and this creates a large unmet medical need. The type of drug that has developed most rapidly in the last decade is immunotherapy: vaccines and, especially, passive vaccination with monoclonal antibodies. Antibodies are attractive drugs as they can be made highly specific for their target and often with few side effects. Data from recent clinical AD trials indicate that a treatment effect by immunotherapy is possible, providing hope for a new generation of drugs. The first anti-amyloid-beta (anti-A beta) vaccine developed by Elan, AN1792, was halted in phase 2 because of aseptic meningoencephalitis. However, in a follow-up study, patients with antibody response to the vaccine demonstrated reduced cognitive decline, supporting the hypothesis that A beta immunotherapy may have clinically relevant effects. Bapineuzumab (Elan/Pfizer Inc./Johnson & Johnson), a monoclonal antibody targeting fibrillar A beta, was stopped because the desired clinical effect was not seen. Solanezumab (Eli Lilly and Company) was developed to target soluble, monomeric A beta. In two phase 3 studies, Solanezumab did not meet primary endpoints. When data from the two studies were pooled, a positive pattern emerged, revealing a significant slowing of cognitive decline in the subgroup of mild AD. The Arctic mutation has been shown to specifically increase the formation of soluble A beta protofibrils, an A beta species shown to be toxic to neurons and likely to be present in all cases of AD. A monoclonal antibody, mAb158, was developed to target A beta protofibrils with high selectivity. It has at least a 1,000-fold higher selectivity for protofibrils as compared with monomers of A beta, thus targeting the toxic species of the peptide. A humanized version of mAb158, BAN2401, has now entered a clinical phase 2b trial in a collaboration between BioArctic Neuroscience and Eisai without the safety concerns seen in previous phase 1 and 2a trials. Experiences from the field indicate the importance of initiating treatment early in the course of the disease and of enriching the trial population by improving the diagnostic accuracy. BAN2401 is a promising candidate for A beta immunotherapy in early AD. Other encouraging efforts in immunotherapy as well as in the small-molecule field offer hope for new innovative therapies for AD in the future

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Electronic and vibrational interactions of porphyrins with proteins: A fluorescence line narrowing study

We have used Fluorescence Line Narrowing (FLN) spectroscopy to study electronic and vibrational interactions of porphyrins with proteins. Zn-substituted cytochrome c (Zn cyt c) was chosen as the model porphyrin-protein system, along with a number of Zn porphyrins embedded in organic and aqueous solvents. For Zn cyt c and the individual Zn porphyrins FLN spectra show characteristics of relaxed fluorescence from an inhomogeneously broadened sample. Zero phonon lines and phonon wings can be clearly distinguished, and vibrational frequencies of the ground and excited states of Zn cyt c have been identified. Ground-state vibrational levels have also been measured for each of the Zn porphyrins. Zn cyt c is characterized by a continuous inhomogeneous energy distribution. When fitted by a gaussian function, we have found the width of the energy distribution function to be approximately 65 cm\sp{-1}, indicating that the porphyrin cavity of the protein is relatively rigid. Upon denaturation the width of the distribution increases almost six times to approximately 361 cm\sp{-1}, reflecting a very significant increase in the conformational heterogeneity of the protein. The spectra of the denatured protein showed increased broad background and decreased peak resolution when compared to the native protein, indicating that denaturation results in increased phonon coupling. In general, we have found that the phonon coupling in the energy selected spectra and the Stokes shift in conventional optical spectra increase with increased polarity of the solvent matrix. Ligation of guanidine to Zn coproporphyrin in 5 M GuHCl is reflected in the zero phonon lines and the phonon contribution of the corresponding spectra. By comparing FLN spectra of Zn cyt c before and after long-term irradiation we have also observed photochemical changes in the sample. When studying the temperature dependence of the FLN spectra of Zn cyt c we have noted a discontinuous broadening pattern with zero phonon lines rapidly losing resolution within a narrow temperature range. We have interpreted this observation in terms of a low activation energy change in the protein, which is uniquely resolved by using the FLN technique. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.

Perspectives on future Alzheimer therapies : amyloid-beta protofibrils - a new target for immunotherapy with BAN2401 in Alzheimer's disease

The symptomatic drugs currently on the market for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have no effect on disease progression, and this creates a large unmet medical need. The type of drug that has developed most rapidly in the last decade is immunotherapy: vaccines and, especially, passive vaccination with monoclonal antibodies. Antibodies are attractive drugs as they can be made highly specific for their target and often with few side effects. Data from recent clinical AD trials indicate that a treatment effect by immunotherapy is possible, providing hope for a new generation of drugs. The first anti-amyloid-beta (anti-A beta) vaccine developed by Elan, AN1792, was halted in phase 2 because of aseptic meningoencephalitis. However, in a follow-up study, patients with antibody response to the vaccine demonstrated reduced cognitive decline, supporting the hypothesis that A beta immunotherapy may have clinically relevant effects. Bapineuzumab (Elan/Pfizer Inc./Johnson & Johnson), a monoclonal antibody targeting fibrillar A beta, was stopped because the desired clinical effect was not seen. Solanezumab (Eli Lilly and Company) was developed to target soluble, monomeric A beta. In two phase 3 studies, Solanezumab did not meet primary endpoints. When data from the two studies were pooled, a positive pattern emerged, revealing a significant slowing of cognitive decline in the subgroup of mild AD. The Arctic mutation has been shown to specifically increase the formation of soluble A beta protofibrils, an A beta species shown to be toxic to neurons and likely to be present in all cases of AD. A monoclonal antibody, mAb158, was developed to target A beta protofibrils with high selectivity. It has at least a 1,000-fold higher selectivity for protofibrils as compared with monomers of A beta, thus targeting the toxic species of the peptide. A humanized version of mAb158, BAN2401, has now entered a clinical phase 2b trial in a collaboration between BioArctic Neuroscience and Eisai without the safety concerns seen in previous phase 1 and 2a trials. Experiences from the field indicate the importance of initiating treatment early in the course of the disease and of enriching the trial population by improving the diagnostic accuracy. BAN2401 is a promising candidate for A beta immunotherapy in early AD. Other encouraging efforts in immunotherapy as well as in the small-molecule field offer hope for new innovative therapies for AD in the future

Speech recognition in noise

Background: Several monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been in development over the last decade. BAN2401 is a monoclonal antibody that selectively binds soluble amyloid beta (A beta) protofibrils. Methods: Here we describe the first clinical study with BAN2401. Safety and tolerability were investigated in mild to moderate AD. A study design was used with staggered parallel single and multiple ascending doses, from 0.1 mg/kg as a single dose to 10 mg/kg biweekly for four months. The presence of amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA, E for edema, H for hemorrhage) was assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples were analyzed to investigate pharmacokinetics (PK) and effects on biomarkers. Results: The incidence of ARIA-E/H on MRI was comparable to that of placebo. BAN2401 exposure was approximately dose proportional, with a serum terminal elimination half-life of similar to 7 days. Only a slight increase of plasma A beta((1-40)) was observed but there were no measurable effects of BAN2401 on CSF biomarkers. On the basis of these findings Phase 2b efficacy study has been initiated in early AD. Conclusions: BAN2401 was well-tolerated across all doses. The PK profile has guided us for selecting dose and dose regimens in the ongoing phase 2b study. There was no clear guidance for an effective dose based on biomarkers

Additional file 1: of Safety and tolerability of BAN2401 - a clinical study in Alzheimer’s disease with a protofibril selective Aβ antibody

Tables addendum. (PDF 125 kb

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and the role and contributions of the Private Partners Scientific Board (PPSB)

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Private Partners Scientific Board (PPSB) encompasses members from industry, biotechnology, diagnostic, and non-profit organizations that have until recently been managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and provided financial and scientific support to ADNI programs. In this article, we review some of the major activities undertaken by the PPSB, focusing on those supporting the most recently completed National Institute on Aging grant, ADNI3, and the impact it has had on streamlining biomarker discovery and validation in Alzheimer's disease. We also provide a perspective on the gaps that may be filled with future PPSB activities as part of ADNI4 and beyond. HIGHLIGHTS: The Private Partners Scientific board (PPSB) continues to play a key role in enabling several Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) activities. PPSB working groups have led landscape assessments to provide valuable feedback on new technologies, platforms, and methods that may be taken up by ADNI in current or future iterations

Monoclonal antibodies against GFRα3 are efficacious against evoked hyperalgesic and allodynic responses in mouse join pain models but, one of these, REGN5069, was not effective against pain in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in patients with osteoarthritis pain

The artemin-GFRα3 signaling pathway has been implicated in various painful conditions including migraine, cold allodynia, hyperalgesia, inflammatory bone pain, and mouse knees contain GFRα3-immunoreactive nerve endings. We developed high affinity mouse (REGN1967) and human (REGN5069) GFRα3-blocking monoclonal antibodies and, following in vivo evaluations in mouse models of chronic joint pain (osteoarthritic-like and inflammatory), conducted a first-in-human phase 1 pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety trial of REGN5069 (NCT03645746) in healthy volunteers, and a phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled efficacy and safety trial of REGN5069 (NCT03956550) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain. In three commonly used mouse models of chronic joint pain (destabilization of the medial meniscus, intra-articular monoiodoacetate, or Complete Freund’s Adjuvant), REGN1967 and REGN5069 attenuated evoked behaviors including tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia without discernably impacting joint pathology or inflammation, prompting us to further evaluate REGN5069 in humans. In the phase 1 study in healthy subjects, the safety profiles of single doses of REGN5069 up to 3000 mg (intravenous) or 600 mg (subcutaneous) were comparable to placebo; PK were consistent with a monoclonal antibody exhibiting target-mediated disposition. In the phase 2 study in patients with OA knee pain, two doses of REGN5069 (100 mg or 1000 mg intravenous every 4 weeks) for 8 weeks failed to achieve the 12-week primary and secondary efficacy endpoints relative to placebo. In addition to possible differences in GFRα3 biology between mice and humans, we highlight here differences in experimental parameters that could have contributed to a different profile of efficacy in mouse models versus human OA pain. Additional research is required to more fully evaluate any potential role of GFRα3 in human pain