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DON in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria

DON in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria: A Phase I/IIa Dose-Escalation Safety Study

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 1Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05478720
Enrollment
152
Registered
2022-07-28
Start date
2022-08-16
Completion date
2026-12-01
Last updated
2026-06-29

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

Conditions

Malaria, Cerebral

Keywords

malaria, Plasmodium falciparum

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the safety of a single intravenous dose of DON in healthy adults, adults with uncomplicated malaria, and children 12 months-14 years old with clinically defined Cerebral Malaria. The main objectives are: * Evaluate the safety of a single intravenous dose of DON in healthy adults and adults with uncomplicated malaria ( Part 1) * Determine the safety of a single dose of DON in children 12 months-14 years old with World Health Organization (WHO) clinically defined CM (Part 2 :Cohort 1-4) * Determine the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of a single dose of DON in healthy adults, adults with uncomplicated malaria and children with CM (Part 1, and Cohorts 1-4 of Part 2) * Determine if administration of a single intravenous dose of DON as an adjunctive therapy in children with CM is associated with improved intracerebral blood flow dynamics on transcranial doppler (TCD) (Part 2 :Cohort 1-4) * Determine if administration of a single intravenous dose of DON as an adjunctive therapy in children with CM is associated with a reduction in brain volume score on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Part 2 :Cohort 1-4) * Determine if administration of a single intravenous dose of DON as an adjunctive therapy in children with cerebral malaria is associated with changes in electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern (Part 2 :Cohort 1-4) * Exploratory: Explore the metabolic mechanisms of action of adjunctive DON in children with CM Healthy adult participants will receive: * anti-emetic ondansetron * one dose of DON Adults with uncomplicated malaria will receive: * anti-emetic ondansetron * one dose of DON * artemisinin-combination therapies per Malawi Ministry of Health guidelines Pediatric participants will receive: * one dose of DON * anti-emetic ondansetron and per Malawi Ministry of Health guidelines: * enteral lumefantrine-artemether therapy, and * artesunate therapy

Detailed description

The initial study to be conducted under this IND is a 2-part dose escalation study. The first part (Adults) contains 2 groups that will be open-label, dose escalation, and will define the safety of 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) in African adults (\>18 years old), who are healthy or who have uncomplicated malaria. Each of the two adult groups will enroll 40 participants broken down into 4 dosage groups with safety evaluations before each dose increase. The first 10 participants enrolled will receive 0.1 mg/kg intravenous (IV) DON. If this dose is proven safe, the dose will be increased to 1.0 mg/kg IV DON, and then 5.0 mg/kg IV DON, and then the final group will receive 10.0 mg/kg IV DON. Each adult dosage group contains 10 healthy participants and 10 participants with uncomplicated malaria. The total number of adult participants enrolled is 80 (20 participants at 4 doses). All participants will receive only one dose of DON. Adult participants will receive a premedication dose of the antiemetic ondansetron, 5 mg IV, administered 30 minutes prior to DON, and repeated 8 and 16 hours later. The duration of study participation for all adult participants is six months. Part 2 (pediatric) of the study will be a randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study in children ages 12 months to 14 years with cerebral malaria to determine safety. Pediatric enrollments will span three malaria seasons, which will be carried out in Study Years 3-5, with a planned interim analysis after cohort 3. In cohort 1 we will first enroll 6 sentinel pediatric participants who will receive intravenous artesunate therapy, enteral lumefantrine-artemether therapy, and either adjunctive DON 0.1 mg/kg or placebo randomized 2:1. Cohort 2 will enroll 12 participants who will receive intravenous artesunate therapy, enteral lumefantrine-artemether therapy, and either adjunctive DON 0.1 mg/kg or placebo randomized 5:1. Cohort 3 will enroll 18 participants who will receive intravenous artesunate therapy, enteral lumefantrine-artemether therapy, and either adjunctive DON 1.0 mg/kg or placebo randomized 7:1. Cohort 4 will enroll 36 participants who will receive intravenous artesunate therapy, enteral lumefantrine-artemether therapy, and either adjunctive DON 0.1 mg/kg, DON 1.0 mg/kg or placebo randomized 1:1:1. Pediatric participation in the study will be 6 months.

Interventions

DRUG6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON)

Single intravenous dose ranging from 0.1-10 mg/kg per dose

DRUGPlacebo

Single intravenous dose of saline

Sponsors

Douglas Postels, MD, MS
Lead SponsorUNKNOWN
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Masking description

Part 1: None (Open Label) Part 2: Blinded (Participants/ Caregivers, Study Staff)

Intervention model description

Part 1: Adult groups Healthy / Uncomplicated Malaria - Groups of 10 adult participants will be enrolled sequentially, with safety assessment and dose escalation for each group if safety criteria are satisfied in the previous group. Pediatric Arm: Enrollment of pediatric participants will begin if safety criteria are satisfied in adults previously enrolled. The pediatric study will be randomized and placebo-controlled with DON or Placebo doses added to standard of care therapy. Interim assessments are planned to determine dosing for subsequent participants.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Months to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

For Healthy Adults (Part 1): * 18 years and older * Informed consent obtained and ICF signed * Temperature ≤ 37.5 °C * BMI 18.5-25 kg/m2 * Creatinine ≤ 110 mmol/L (≤ 1.2 mg/dL; males) or ≤ 90 mmol/L (≤ 1.0 mg/dL; females) * Hemoglobin ≥ 7 g/dL or hematocrit/ packed-cell volume (PCV) ≥ 20% * Thick or thin blood smear negative for asexual forms of P. falciparum * Negative pregnancy test for persons of child-bearing potential For Adults with Uncomplicated Malaria (Part 1): * 18 years and older * Informed consent obtained and ICF signed * Temperature ≥ 38 °C or history of fever in the past 24 hours * Thick or thin blood smear positive for asexual forms of P. falciparum (parasite count and speciation documented) * Hemoglobin ≥ 7 g/dL or hematocrit/ PCV ≥ 20% * BMI 18.5-25 kg/m2 * Creatinine ≤ 110 mmol/L (≤ 1.2 mg/dL; males) or ≤ 90 mmol/L (≤ 1.0 mg/dL; females) * Glasgow coma score of 15 * Respiratory rate ≤ 20 breaths/ minute * Oxygen saturation ≥ 90% on room air * Negative pregnancy test for person of child-bearing potential For Children with Cerebral Malaria (Part 2): * Age 12 months-14 years old * Informed consent obtained and ICF signed by parent or guardian * Temperature ≥ 38 °C or history of fever in the last 24 hours * Thick or thin blood smear positive for asexual forms of P. falciparum * Blantyre coma score ≤ 2 * No other explanation for coma by history or physical exam * Hematocrit or PCV ≥ 18% * Negative pregnancy test for persons of child-bearing potential * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \< 280 IU/L * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \< 195 IU/L

Exclusion criteria

(All Participants): * Pregnancy or lactation (participants of child-bearing potential ages 9-59 years will undergo pregnancy testing prior to administration of the intervention) * Participants attempting to become pregnant * Currently taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) * Currently taking anti-tuberculosis medications * Allergy to ondansetron or ceftriaxone Additional

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Incidence of local AEs occurring within 14 days after the administration of DON14 daysNumber of AEs
Incidence of systemic AEs occurring within 14 days after the administration of DON14 daysNumber of AEs
Incidence of systemic SAEs occurring within 14 days after the administration of DON14 daysNumber of SAEs - pediatric arms only
Assessment of Blantyre Coma Score14 daysTime to Blantyre Coma Score of 5

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measured by half lifeMeasured through 18 hours post infusionMeasurement of half life
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measured by volume of distributionMeasured through 18 hours post infusionMeasurement of Vd
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measure by maximum concentration (Cmax)Measured through 18 hours post infusionMeasurement of Cmax
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measure by time of maximal concentration (Tmax)Measured through 18 hours post infusionMeasurement of Tmax
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measure by area under the concentrations vs. time curve (AUC)Measured through 18 hours post infusionMeasurement of AUC
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measure by clearanceMeasured through 18 hours post infusionClearance measured over time
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measure by elimination rateMeasured through 18 hours post infusionElimination over time
PK measurement of DON in sera of recipients measure by terminal T1/2Measured through 18 hours post infusionMeasurement of terminal T1/2

Countries

Malawi

Contacts

CONTACTYamikani Chimalizeni, MD
ychimalizeni@medcol.mw+265 992 23 32 21
CONTACTAlice Liomba
wanguialice@gmail.com+265 888 36 57 58
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDouglas Postels, MD

Children's National Research Institute

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jun 30, 2026