Skip to content

A Study of Ustekinumab in Pediatric Participants With Moderately to Severely Active Crohn's Disease

A Phase 3 Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of Ustekinumab as Open-label Intravenous Induction Treatment Followed by Randomized Double-blind Subcutaneous Ustekinumab Maintenance in Pediatric Participants With Moderately to Severely Active Crohn's Disease

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04673357
Acronym
UNITI Jr
Enrollment
101
Registered
2020-12-17
Start date
2021-04-06
Completion date
2025-03-03
Last updated
2026-07-30

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

Conditions

Crohn Disease

Keywords

Pediatric

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ustekinumab dosing in inducing clinical remission (Global) and in maintaining clinical remission (US); to evaluate the safety profile and ustekinumab exposure (pharmacokinetics \[PK\]) in pediatric participants with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease.

Interventions

DRUGUstekinumab

Ustekinumab will be administered intravenously in induction period and subcutaneously in maintenance period.

DRUGPlacebo

Matching placebo will be administered as SC injection.

Sponsors

Janssen Research & Development, LLC
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Masking description

Induction period is an open-label period and maintenance period is a double-blind period.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
2 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Have Crohn's disease or fistulizing Crohn's disease with active colitis, ileitis, or ileocolitis, confirmed at any time in the past by endoscopy and histology * Must have moderately to severely active Crohn's disease (as defined by a baseline Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index \[PCDAI\] score greater than \[\>\] 30); have ileocolonoscopy with evidence of active Crohn's disease defined as presence of ulceration (which is equal to Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's disease \[SES-CD\] score greater than or equals to \[\>=\] 3) during screening into this study. The ileocolonoscopy procedure must occur within approximately 3 weeks prior to the administration of study intervention at Week 0 (Induction Period). A video ileocolonoscopy recorded within 3 months prior to the Week 0 (Induction Period) visit may be used in case of rescreening of a participant who had an ileocolonoscopy but failed the initial screening for another reason, on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with the sponsor. If unable to evaluate ulceration due to stricture or inadequate bowel preparation, at least one of the following criteria may instead be applied: an abnormal C-reactive protein (CRP) (\> 0.3 milligram per deciliter \[mg/dL\] or 3.0 milligram per liter \[mg/L\] at screening) or; fecal calprotectin of \>= 250 milligram per kilogram \[mg/kg\] or \>= 250 microgram per gram \[mcg/g\] at screening * If receiving enteral nutrition, must have been on a stable regimen for at least 2 weeks prior to induction week 0 (Week I-0) * Females of childbearing potential must have a negative highly sensitive urine pregnancy test at screening and at Week I-0 prior to study intervention administration

Exclusion criteria

* Has complications of Crohn's disease such as symptomatic strictures or stenosis, short gut syndrome, or any other manifestation that might be anticipated to require surgery, that could preclude the use of the PCDAI to assess response to therapy or would possibly confound the ability to assess the effect of treatment with ustekinumab * Have a history of latent or active granulomatous infection, histoplasmosis, or coccidioidomycosis, or have had a nontuberculous mycobacterial infection prior to screening * Presence or history of any malignancy including presence or history of lymphoproliferative disease including lymphoma, or signs and symptoms suggestive of possible lymphoproliferative disease, such as lymphadenopathy of unusual size or location (example, nodes in the posterior triangle of the neck, infraclavicular, epitrochlear, or periaortic areas), and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or clinically significant hepatomegaly or splenomegaly * Have a history of moderate or severe progressive or uncontrolled liver or renal insufficiency; or significant cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurologic, hematologic, psychiatric (including suicidality), or metabolic disturbances * Received an investigational intervention including any investigational vaccines or used an invasive investigational medical device within 3 months before the planned first dose of study intervention or is currently enrolled in an investigational study; receipt of an investigational vaccine for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not an automatic exclusion criterion

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Global Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Remission at Induction Week 8 (Week I-8)Induction Week 8 (Week I-8)Clinical remission was defined as a Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) score \<=10. The 11-item PCDAI covered five general disease activity domains: symptom history scores (3 items: abdominal pain, stool frequency, and general well-being); laboratory scores (3 items: hematocrit \[HCT\], erythrocyte sedimentation rate \[ESR\], Albumin); growth scores (2 items: weight and height); physical examination scores (2 items: abdomen and perirectal disease); and extraintestinal manifestations. The category of severity for each index item is assigned a score: 0=normal;5=mild abnormality; 10= severe abnormality. For hematocrit and erythrocyte SR, the maximum score =5. For albumin level, the maximum score = 10. All items were summed to derive the total score. The total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity.
US-specific Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Remission at Maintenance Week 44Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Clinical remission was defined as a Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) score \<=10. The 11-item PCDAI covered five general disease activity domains: symptom history scores (3 items: abdominal pain, stool frequency, and general well-being); laboratory scores (3 items: HCT, ESR, Albumin); growth scores (2 items: weight and height); physical examination scores (2 items: abdomen and perirectal disease); and extraintestinal manifestations. The category of severity for each index item was assigned a score: 0=normal;5=mild abnormality; 10= severe abnormality. For hematocrit and erythrocyte SR, the maximum score= 5. For albumin level, the maximum score= 10. All items were summed to derive the total score. The total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With Treatment-emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs)Induction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Number of participants with TEAEs were reported. An AE was any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical study participant administered a medicinal (investigational or non-investigational) product. An AE did not necessarily have a causal relationship with the intervention. TEAEs were defined as AEs occurring at or after the initial administration of the study intervention.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With Treatment-emergent Serious Adverse Events (TESAEs)Induction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Number of participants with TESAEs was reported. An AE was any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical study participant administered a medicinal (investigational or non-investigational) product. An AE did not necessarily have a causal relationship with the intervention. An SAE was an AE resulting in any of the following outcomes or deemed significant for any other reason: death; initial or prolonged inpatient hospitalization; life-threatening experience (immediate risk of dying); persistent or significant disability/incapacity; or congenital anomaly. TESAEs were defined as any SAE occurring at or after the initial administration of the study intervention.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With AEs Leading to Discontinuation of Study InterventionInduction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 40 (Study Week 48)Number of participants with AEs leading to discontinuation of study intervention were reported.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With AEs of Special Interest (AESI)Induction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)An AE was any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical study participant administered a medicinal (investigational or non-investigational) product. An AE did not necessarily have a causal relationship with the intervention. AESI were defined as any newly identified malignancy, or case of active TB, or opportunistic infection occurring after the first administration of study intervention.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With Abnormalities in Clinical Laboratory Parameters: HematologyInduction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Number of participants with abnormalities in clinical laboratory parameters (hematology) were reported. It included hemoglobin (Hb). Grades 0-4 were based on the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE), where Grade 0 was normal, Grade 1 was mild, Grade 2 was moderate, Grade 3 was severe or medically significant but not immediately life-threatening, and Grade 4 was life-threatening consequences. Higher grades showed more severe abnormalities. Only abnormalities where atleast one participant had data are reported. Inc = increased, Dec= decreased.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With Abnormalities in Clinical Laboratory Parameters: ChemistryInduction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Number of participants with abnormalities in clinical laboratory parameters were reported. It included chemistry measures: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST),blood bilirubin (BB). Grades 0-4 were based on NCI-CTCAE version 5.0, where Grade 0 was Normal, Grade 1 was mild, Grade 2 was moderate, Grade 3 was severe or medically significant but not immediately life-threatening, and Grade 4 was life-threatening consequences. Higher grades showed more severe abnormalities. Only abnormalities where at least one participant had data are reported. Inc = increased, Dec= decreased.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Number of Participants With Reactions Temporally Associated With Intravenous (IV) Infusion (Induction Period) and Subcutaneous (SC) Injection-Site Reactions (Maintenance Period)Induction Period: From induction Week 0 up to induction Week 8; Maintenance Period: From Maintenance Week 0 (Study Week 8) up to Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Number of participants with reactions temporally associated with intravenous (IV) infusion (Induction Period) and subcutaneous (SC) Injection-Site Reactions (Maintenance Period) were reported.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Serum Ustekinumab ConcentrationsInduction Period: Week 0 (Pre-infusion), Week I-0 (1-hour post infusion), Week I-3, Week I-6, and Week I-8; Maintenance Period: Week M-4, Week M-8, Week M-12, Week M-16, Week M-24, Week M-32, Week M-36 and Week M-44Serum ustekinumab concentrations were reported.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Global Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Remission at Induction Week 6 as Assessed by Short Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (sPCDAI)Induction Week 6 (Week I-6)Clinical remission was defined as a short Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (sPCDAI) score \<=10. The sPCDAI was composed of six components: abdominal pain, stool frequency, patient general well-being, body weight, abdominal examination (abdominal mass and tenderness), and extraintestinal manifestations. Each component was assigned a score of 0, 5, 10, or 20, depending on the severity of findings, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity, while lower scores (closer to 0) reflected clinical remission or minimal disease activity. Individual component scores were summed to derive the total sPCDAI score, which ranged from 0 to 90. Higher score indicate greater severity. The sPCDAI score was calculated only when \>=3 of the 6 components were available.
Global Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Response at Induction Week 8Induction Week 8Assessment of response in children with Crohn's disease was evaluated using the PCDAI. Clinical response was defined as a reduction from baseline of \>=12.5 points in the PCDAI score, calculated by summing weighted scores from 11 items across five domains: symptom history (abdominal pain, stool frequency, and general well-being); laboratory scores (hematocrit, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and albumin); growth scores (weight and height); physical examination scores (abdominal and perirectal disease); and extraintestinal manifestations. Each index item was assigned a severity score of 0 (normal), 5 (mild abnormality), or 10 (severe abnormality). For HCT and ESR, maximum score was 5, and for albumin level, maximum score was 10. The total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity. Lower PCDAI scores reflected lower disease activity, with a resulting score of \<=30 on the 0-100 scale.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Response at Induction Week 6 as Assessed by sPCDAIInduction Week 6sPCDAI clinical response was defined as reduction from baseline in the sPCDAI score of \>=10. The 6-item sPCDAI score ranges from 0 (no disease activity) to 90 (severe disease activity),calculated by summing weighted scores for abdominal pain, stool frequency, general well-being, body weight, abdominal exam, and extraintestinal manifestations. Each component was assigned a score of 0, 5, 10, or 20, depending on the severity of findings, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity, while lower scores (closer to 0) reflected minimal disease activity. Individual component scores were summed to derive the total sPCDAI score, which ranged from 0 to 90. Higher score indicate greater severity. The sPCDAI score was only calculated when \>=3 of the 6 components were available.
Global Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Endoscopic Response at Maintenance Week 8 as Assessed by Simplified Endoscopic Score-Crohn's Disease (SES-CD)Maintenance Period Week 8 (Study Week 16)Endoscopic response was assessed using the Simplified Endoscopic Activity Score for Crohn's Disease (SES-CD), a validated endoscopic scoring system based on four components: size of ulcers, extent of ulcerated surface, extent of affected surface, and presence of narrowing. Each component was scored from 0 to 3 across five intestinal sections: ileum, right colon, transverse colon, left (descending and sigmoid) colon, and rectum. Component scores were summed across all sections to derive a total SES-CD score ranging from 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating greater endoscopic disease severity. Endoscopic response was defined as a \>=50% reduction from baseline in SES-CD score or achievement of an SES-CD score \<=2 in participants with a baseline SES-CD score \>=3.
Global Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Response at Maintenance Week 8Maintenance Week 8 (Study Week 16)Clinical response was defined as a reduction from baseline of \>=12.5 points in PCDAI score, calculated by summing weighted scores from 11 items across five domains: symptom history(abdominal pain, stool frequency, and general well-being); laboratory scores (hematocrit, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and albumin); growth scores(weight and height); physical examination scores(abdominal and perirectal disease); extraintestinal manifestations. Each index item was assigned a severity score of 0(normal), 5(mild abnormality), or 10(severe abnormality). For HCT and ESR, maximum score was 5, for albumin level, maximum score was 10. Total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity. Lower PCDAI scores reflected lower disease activity, with resulting score of \<=30 on 0-100 scale.
Global and US-specific Outcome Measures: Percentage of Participants With Endoscopic Response at Maintenance Week 44 as Assessed by SES-CDMaintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Endoscopic response was assessed using the Simplified Endoscopic Activity Score for Crohn's Disease (SES-CD), a validated endoscopic scoring system based on four components: size of ulcers, extent of ulcerated surface, extent of affected surface, and presence of narrowing. Each component was scored from 0 to 3 across five intestinal sections: ileum, right colon, transverse colon, left (descending and sigmoid) colon, and rectum. Component scores were summed across all sections to derive a total SES-CD score ranging from 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating greater endoscopic disease severity. Endoscopic response was defined as a \>=50% reduction from baseline in SES-CD score or achievement of an SES-CD score \<=2 in participants with a baseline SES-CD score \>=3.
US-specific Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Response at Maintenance Week 44Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Clinical response was defined as a reduction from baseline of \>=12.5 points in PCDAI score, calculated by summing weighted scores from 11 items across five domains: symptom history(abdominal pain, stool frequency, and general well-being); laboratory scores (hematocrit, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and albumin); growth scores(weight and height); physical examination scores(abdominal and perirectal disease); extraintestinal manifestations. Each index item was assigned a severity score of 0(normal), 5(mild abnormality), or 10(severe abnormality). For HCT and ESR, maximum score was 5, for albumin level, maximum score was 10. Total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity. Lower PCDAI scores reflected lower disease activity, with resulting score of \<=30 on 0-100 scale.
US-specific Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Corticosteroid-free Clinical Remission at Maintenance Week 44Maintenance Period Week 44 (Study Week 52)Corticosteroid-free remission was defined as PCDAI score of \<=10 points and not receiving corticosteroids for at least 90 days prior to Week M-44. The 11-item PCDAI covered five general disease activity domains: symptom history scores (3 items: abdominal pain, stool frequency; and general well-being); laboratory scores (3 items: HCT, ESR, Albumin); growth scores (2 items: weight and height), physical examination scores (2 items: abdomen and perirectal disease), and extraintestinal manifestations. The category of severity for each index item was assigned a score: 0=normal;5=mild abnormality; 10= severe abnormality. For hematocrit and erythrocyte SR, the maximum score= 5. For albumin level, the maximum score= 10. All items were summed to derive the total score. The total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity.
Global Outcome Measure: Percentage of Participants With Clinical Remission at Maintenance Week 44 Who Had Clinical Remission at Induction Week 8Maintenance Week 44 (Study Week 52)Clinical remission was defined as Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) score \<=10. The 11-item PCDAI covered five general disease activity domains: symptom history scores (3 items: abdominal pain, stool frequency; and general well-being); laboratory scores (3 items: HCT, ESR, Albumin); growth scores (2 items: weight and height), physical examination scores (2 items: abdomen and perirectal disease), and extraintestinal manifestations. The category of severity for each index item was assigned a score: 0=normal;5=mild abnormality; 10= severe abnormality. For hematocrit and erythrocyte SR, the maximum score= 5. For albumin level, the maximum score= 10. All items were summed to derive the total score. The total PCDAI score ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disease activity.

Countries

Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, United States

Contacts

STUDY_DIRECTORJanssen Research & Development, LLC Clinical Trial

Janssen Research & Development, LLC

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic
Age, Continuous13.5 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.73
Participants with a History of Biological Failure57 Participants
Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) Score41.16 Score on scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.62
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
9 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
3 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
88 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
41 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
60 Participants
Weight
<40 kg
29 Participants
Weight
>=40 kg
72 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 1010 / 480 / 49
other
Total, other adverse events
54 / 10139 / 4842 / 49
serious
Total, serious adverse events
3 / 1017 / 486 / 49

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 31, 2026