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Sequential Regimen of Bendamustine Followed by Obinutuzumab (GA101), Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) and Venetoclax (ABT-199) in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory CLL

A Prospective, Open-label, Multicenter Phase-II Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a Sequential Regimen of Bendamustine Followed by Obinutuzumab (GA101), Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) and Venetoclax (ABT-199) in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory CLL (CLL2-BZAG Protocol)

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04515238
Acronym
CLL2-BZAG
Enrollment
42
Registered
2020-08-17
Start date
2020-10-01
Completion date
2027-02-01
Last updated
2026-08-20

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

Conditions

Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia

Keywords

CLL

Brief summary

CLL2-BZAG is a prospective, open-label, multicenter phase-II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a sequential regimen of bendamustine followed by obinutuzumab (GA101), zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) and venetoclax (ABT-199) in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL.

Detailed description

In the CLL2-BZAG trial will be included a total of 40 patients with relapsed or refractory CLL in need of treatment. This trial will evaluate a debulking with two cycles bendamustine (only for patients with a high tumor load), followed by an induction and maintenance treatment with obinutuzumab, zanubrutinib and venetoclax in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL. Thus, this trial combines one established (chemotherapy) and three novel, synergistic (antibody, Bruton's tyrosine kinase(BTK)-inhibitor and Bcl-2 antagonist) principles of action in order to achieve deep and long lasting remissions with a short duration of treatment. Additionally, this trial has an extensive accompanying scientific program aiming at a better understanding of the kinetics of response and clonal evolution of CLL.

Interventions

DRUGBendamustine

Debulking: Cycles 1-2: d1+2 - 70mg/m² i.v.

BIOLOGICALObinutuzumab

Induction: Cycle 1: d1 - 100 mg, d1 (or d2) - 900 mg, d8 + d15 - 1000 mg i.v.; Cycle 2 - 6: 1000 mg, d1 i.v. Maintenance: Cycle 1 - 8: 1000 mg, d1 i.v.

BIOLOGICALZanubrutinib

Induction: Cycle 1: --; Cycles 2 - 6: d1-28: 2 x 160mg p.o. Maintenance: Cycle 1 - 8: d1-84: 2 x 160mg p.o

BIOLOGICALVenetoclax

Induction: Cycles 1 + 2: --; Cycle 3: d1-7: 20mg, d8-14: 50mg, d15-21: 100mg, d22-28: 200mg p.o.; Cycle 4 - 6: d1-28: 400 mg p.o. Maintenance: Cycle 1 - 8: d1-84: 400 mg p.o.

Sponsors

German CLL Study Group
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

1. Relapsed/refractory CLL in need of treatment according to International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iwCLL) criteria In case of a recent previous treatment, patients must have recovered from acute toxicities and treatment regimen must be stopped within the following time periods before start of the study treatment in the CLL2-BZAG trial: * chemotherapy ≥ 28 days * antibody treatment ≥ 14 days * kinase inhibitors, BCL2-antagonists or immunomodulatory agents ≥ 3 days * corticosteroids may be applied until the start of the BZAG-regimen, these have to be reduced to an equivalent of ≤ 20mg prednisolone per day during treatment Please note: Patients with a progression during previous treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib or another BTK inhibitor, as well as patients with a known resistance mutation (e.g. BTK-/PLCg2) are excluded from study participation. However, patients who progressed after termination of treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib, other BTK inhibitors and/or obinutuzumab or who stopped treatment due to intolerance to ibrutinib are eligible for participation. 2. Adequate renal function, as indicated by a creatinine clearance ≥30ml/min calculated according to the modified formula of Cockcroft and Gault or directly measured with 24 hr. urine collection 3. Adequate hematologic function as indicated by a neutrophil count ≥ 1.0 x 109/L, a hemoglobin value ≥8.0 g/dL and a platelet count ≥ 25 x 109/L, unless directly attributable to the patient´s CLL (e.g. bone marrow infiltration), in this case, platelet count should be ≥ 10 × 109/L. 4. Adequate liver function as indicated by a total bilirubin ≤2x, AST/ALT ≤2.5x the institutional ULN value, unless directly attributable to the patient's CLL or to Gilbert's Syndrome 5. Negative serological testing for hepatitis B (HBsAg negative and anti-HBc negative, patients positive for anti-HBc may be included if PCR for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) DNA is negative and HBV-DNA PCR is performed every 4 weeks until one year after last dosage of GA101 (obinutuzumab) or until the last dose of zanubrutinib, whichever occurs later), negative testing for hepatitis-C RNA and negative HIV test within 6 weeks prior to registration 6. Age ≥ 18 years 7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG) 0 - 2, ECOG 3 is only permitted if related to CLL (e.g. due to anemia or severe constitutional symptoms) 8. Life expectancy ≥ 6 months 9. Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent and to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements

Exclusion criteria

1. (Suspicion of) transformation of CLL (i.e. Richter's transformation, pro-lymphocytic leukemia) or central nervous system (CNS) involvement 2. Progression during previous treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib or another BTK inhibitor, and/or presence of known mutations associated with resistance to therapy, e.g. Bruton´s Tyrosine Kinase and Phospholipase C Gamma 2 (PLCg2) 3. Confirmed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) 4. Malignancies other than CLL currently requiring systemic therapies 5. Uncontrolled infection requiring systemic treatment 6. Any comorbidity or organ system impairment rated with a Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) score of 4, excluding the eyes/ears/nose/throat/larynx organ system or any other life-threatening illness, medical condition or organ system dysfunction that - in the investigator´s opinion - could compromise the patients safety or interfere with the absorption or metabolism of the study drugs (e.g, inability to swallow tablets or impaired resorption in the gastrointestinal tract) 7. Significantly increased risk of bleeding according to the investigator´s evaluation, e.g. due known bleeding diathesis (e.g. von-Willebrandt´s disease or hemophilia), major surgical procedure ≤ 4 weeks or stroke/intracranial hemorrhage ≤ 6 months. 8. Requirement of therapy with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors/inducers or anticoagulant with phenprocoumon (marcumar) or other vitamin K-antagonists 9. Use of investigational agents ≤ 28 days prior to start of study treatment, however, kinase inhibitors, BCL2-antagonists and antibody treatment are allowed in accordance with inclusion criterion number 1 (see above). 10. Known hypersensitivity to obinutuzumab (GA101), venetoclax (ABT-199), zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) or any of the excipients Please note: Patients with a known hypersensitivity to bendamustine are allowed to participate but will not receive a debulking with bendamustine 11. Pregnant women and nursing mothers (a negative pregnancy test is required for all women of childbearing potential within 7 days before start of treatment) 12. Fertile men or women of childbearing potential unless: * surgically sterile or ≥ 2 years after the onset of menopause, or * willing to use two methods of reliable contraception including one highly effective (Pearl Index \<1) and one additional effective (barrier) method during study treatment and for 18 months after end of study treatment. 13. Vaccination with a live vaccine ≤ 28 days prior to registration 14. Legal incapacity 15. Prisoners or subjects who are institutionalized by regulatory or court order 16. Persons who are in dependence to the sponsor or an investigator

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Negativity rate of minimal residual disease (MRD) in peripheral blood (PB) measured by multi-color flow cytometryAt final restaging (RE): 12 weeks after the start of the last induction cycleMRD negativity is defined as less than one (1) CLL-cell among 10,000 leukocytes analyzed \[0.01%\]. The MRD negativity rate is defined as the proportion of patients having achieved MRD negativity based on the full analysis set (FAS).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall response rate (ORR)At final restaging (RE): 12 weeks after the start of the last induction cycleProportion of patients having achieved a complete response (CR), a CR with incomplete recovery of the bone marrow (CRi), or a partial response (PR) as best response.
CR / CRi rateAt final restaging (RE): 12 weeks after the start of the last induction cycleProportion of patients having achieved a CR or CRi as best response (= number of patients with best response CR or CRi divided by the number of the FAS)
MRD in PB measured by 4-color flow cytometry at different times to guide the duration of maintenance therapy and for the assessment of the kinetics of response to the different treatment phasesFrom date of screening until the end of follow-up, up to 55 monthMRD negativity is defined as less than one (1) CLL-cell among 10,000 leukocytes analyzed \[0.01%\], i.e. \< 10-4. MRD values will be categorized into negative (\<10-4) and positive (≥10-4)
Safety: Adverse events (AE), serious adverse events (SAE) and adverse events of particular/special interest (AEPI/AESI)Up to 55 months after first dose of study drugType, frequency, severity and relationship to study treatment.of AEs, SAEs and AEPIs/AESIs

Countries

Germany

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORPaula Cramer, Dr. med.

German CLL Study Group

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 21, 2026