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Pilot Study to Assess Dimethyl Fumarate Related GI Symptom Mitigation

A Pilot Study to Assess Dimethyl Fumarate (Tecfidera) Related GI Symptom Mitigation Via Food Bolus Alteration and Simethicone/Loperamide Administration

Status
Terminated
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02217982
Acronym
IIT9
Enrollment
5
Registered
2014-08-15
Start date
2014-07-31
Completion date
2015-06-30
Last updated
2017-03-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Brief summary

Single site, open label, randomized design in patients with relapsing forms of Multiple Sclerosis. At the Screening Visit, the patient will be given a diary containing the MAGIS scale to be completed once a day for the first two weeks while on Dimethyl Fumarate (DMF), including the titration period. After two weeks or if a patient experiences 3 or more consecutive days of GI symptoms in any category of ≥3.5, the patient will return for a Baseline Visit. The MAGIS diary will be reviewed by the coordinator. Any patient who has reported an average MAGIS score of greater than or equal to 3.5 in at least one of the key categories will be randomized to a standard therapy or treatment arm. Patients who report a MAGIS of less than 3.5 during this period will be terminated from the study at this visit. Patients with an average reported MAGIS of greater than 6.5 at Baseline will be placed in the treatment arm. Patients who are randomized to the treatment arm will be instructed to take 125 mg simethicone and one tablespoon of a high fat food (peanut butter) 10 minutes prior to each DMF dose. If the average MAGIS score is greater than 3.5 in the diarrhea category they will also be instructed to take 2 mg loperamide three times daily. Patients randomized to the standard therapy arm will be instructed to follow the normal dosing regimen for DMF with a food bolus of their choice prior to dosing. If severe symptoms (MAGIS \>6.5) are noted at any time post randomization in any MAGIS category, crossover to the treatment arm will be allowed. Both groups will be asked to rate their GI symptoms over the past 24 hours using the MAGIS scale once daily. Both treatment arms will be observed for 6 weeks. MAGIS will be recorded once daily. Patients will return to the clinic at Week 3 and Week 6/End of Treatment for diary and compliance review. After Week 6, patients will be instructed to return to a standard therapy. MAGIS will be recorded for one more week and collected at Week 7/End of Study.

Interventions

DRUGLoperamide

Sponsors

Biogen
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Rocky Mountain MS Research Group, LLC
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Decision to treat with DMF must precede enrollment 2. Ability to understand the purpose and risk of the study and provide authorization for the use of protected health information in accordance with the monitoring agency 3. Men or women 18 years of age or older at the time of informed consent 4. Naïve to DMF or fumaric acid esters 5. Confirmed diagnosis of a relapsing form of multiple sclerosis as verified by the Principal Investigator

Exclusion criteria

1. Unable to unwilling to comply with study requirements as outlined in the informed consent 2. Known active malignancies or any other major comorbidities that, in the opinion of the Investigator, would affect the outcome of the study 3. Pregnant or breastfeeding or likely to become pregnant during the course of the study. Women of child-bearing potential must practice an acceptable form of birth control 4. Previous treatment with dimethyl fumarate 5. Past history of GI malignancy, gastric ulceration refractory to medical resolution, history of gastrectomy. At the discretion of the PI, resolved GI ulceration, gastroesophageal reflux will not be exclusionary 6. Known sensitivity or allergic reaction to peanuts, simethicone, or loperamide

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Reported GI Symptoms7 WeeksThe primary endpoint will be severity of GI events as measured by the MAGIS scale for subjects in the treatment arm compared to the standard therapy arm.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Diarrhea Reduction7 WeeksThe secondary objective is to assess the reduction in diarrhea in the treatment group compared to the control.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of Participants With Pre-Existing GI Conditions7 WeeksThe tertiary objective is to gather further data regarding pre-existing conditions (GE reflex, gastric bypass, stomach ulcer, etc) and their possible relationship to GI symptoms when initiating DMF.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Control Group
Patients randomized to the standard therapy arm will be instructed to follow the normal dosing regimen for DMF with a food bolus of their choice prior to dosing. If severe symptoms (MAGIS \>6.5) are noted at any time post randomization in any MAGIS category, crossover to the treatment arm will be allowed. Both groups will be asked to rate their GI symptoms over the past 24 hours using the MAGIS scale once daily.
1
Treatment Arm
Patients who are randomized to the treatment arm will be instructed to take 125 mg simethicone and one tablespoon of a high fat food (peanut butter)10 minutes prior to each DMF dose. If the average MAGIS score is greater than 3.5 in the diarrhea category they will also be instructed to take 2 mg loperamide three times daily. Simethicone Loperamide Peanut Butter
4
Total5

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall StudyAdverse Event01
Overall StudyTrial discontinued10

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicControl GroupTreatment ArmTotal
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
1 Participants4 Participants5 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
1 Participants4 Participants5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1 Participants4 Participants5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 10 / 4
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 10 / 4

Outcome results

Primary

Reported GI Symptoms

The primary endpoint will be severity of GI events as measured by the MAGIS scale for subjects in the treatment arm compared to the standard therapy arm.

Time frame: 7 Weeks

Population: Trial was shut down early as not enough patients qualified with GI symptoms their first 2 weeks after initiating DMF therapy

ArmMeasureValue
Control GroupReported GI Symptoms0
Treatment ArmReported GI Symptoms0
Secondary

Diarrhea Reduction

The secondary objective is to assess the reduction in diarrhea in the treatment group compared to the control.

Time frame: 7 Weeks

Population: Not enough patients qualified and the study was terminated early.

ArmMeasureValue
Control GroupDiarrhea Reduction0
Treatment ArmDiarrhea Reduction0
Other Pre-specified

Number of Participants With Pre-Existing GI Conditions

The tertiary objective is to gather further data regarding pre-existing conditions (GE reflex, gastric bypass, stomach ulcer, etc) and their possible relationship to GI symptoms when initiating DMF.

Time frame: 7 Weeks

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026