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First Clinical Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability & PK of DX243 in Healthy Volunteers and Patients With Hearing Loss

Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled Phase 1/2a Study of Safety, Tolerability and PK of Single and Repeated SC Doses of DX243 in Healthy Volunteers, and 1-month Safety and Efficacy in Moderately Severe Age-related Hearing Loss

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07637981
Acronym
DX243-101
Enrollment
24
Registered
2026-06-10
Start date
2026-05-13
Completion date
2027-10-01
Last updated
2026-06-10

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

Conditions

Age-related Hearing Loss

Keywords

Age-related hearing loss, DX243

Brief summary

Phase 2a: Multiple Ascending Dose (MAD) in male and female patients with hearing loss: The study will be conducted according to a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. A total of 24 patients, otherwise healthy, aged up to 75 years old, with mild to moderate hearing loss will be included. Two cohorts of 12 male or female patients (no ratio is required) will receive two different flat doses (low dose and high dose) ofDX243 or placebo for 29 days using SC administration. In each cohort of 12 patients, 4 will be randomised to placebo and 8 to DX243, so at the end of Phase 2a, 8 patients will have received placebo, 8 the low dose and 8 the high dose of DX243. The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of DX243 administered subcutaneously after repeated doses. The secondary objectives are to detect preliminary signal of efficacy, using speech in noise tests, tonal and vocal audiometry, as well as tinnitus and quality of life.

Detailed description

This is a first-in-human, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1/2a study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and preliminary efficacy of DX243, a novel investigational compound, in healthy volunteers and patients with mild to moderate age-related hearing loss (ARHL). The study consists of two parts: a Phase 1 segment including single and multiple ascending dose evaluations in healthy volunteers, followed by a Phase 2a extension in patients with hearing impairment. The overall design allows for dose selection and regimen optimisation based on safety and PK results obtained in earlier cohorts. In the Phase 2a part, 24 otherwise healthy male and female patients aged up to 75 years with up to moderately severe hearing loss will be enrolled. Patients will be randomised in a double-blind manner to receive either DX243 (two dose levels) or placebo. Treatment will consist of once-weekly subcutaneous administrations over 29 days (five injections), with 2 dosing levels selected based on Phase 1 safety, PK and modelling data to achieve target plasma concentrations while minimising local tolerability issues. The primary objective of the Phase 2a portion is to assess the safety and tolerability of repeated subcutaneous administration of DX243, including treatment-emergent adverse events, local injection site reactions, laboratory parameters, and ECG findings. Secondary and exploratory objectives include characterisation of PK parameters and evaluation of preliminary efficacy signals using a comprehensive battery of audiological tests (including speech-in-noise performance, pure tone audiometry, and auditory brainstem response), tinnitus assessments, and quality-of-life measures. Patients will be followed for up to approximately 6 months after treatment to assess longer-term safety and durability of response.

Interventions

DRUGDX243

DX243 10 mg/mL

DRUGPlacebo

Placebo solution, matching the external appearance of DX243.

Sponsors

Dendrogenix
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patient having self-reported recent difficulty hearing in noisy environments for at least 6 months prior to screening. * Patient exhibiting a speech-in-noise hearing deficit in at least one ear; * Patient having audiometrically-defined normal hearing or up to moderately severe hearing impairment

Exclusion criteria

* Current tympanic membrane perforation; * Current acute or chronic otitis; * Genetic hearing loss; * Symmetric or asymmetric severe hearing loss; * Any therapy known as ototoxic; * Acute chronic otitis media or otitis externa terminated less than 7 days prior to randomisation; * History of chronic inflammatory or suppurative ear disease or cholesteatoma; * History of otosclerosis, suspected perilymph fistula or membrane rupture, suspected retro-cochlear lesion, barotrauma; * Prior ear surgery of any kind; * Fluctuating hearing loss; * Patient with conductive hearing loss; * History of Meniere's disease, autoimmune hearing loss, radiation-induced hearing loss, acoustic neuroma

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Safety and tolerability: incidence, nature, severity and causality of treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE) and (Serious) Adverse events (S)(AEs)Through study completion, an average 7 months
Tolerability at the injection sites using a 1-5 scale Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) for pain, erythema, swelling, induration, nodule and ulceration with 1 : normal and 5: worst possible symptom/signFor 14 days or up to normalisation after each administration whichever comes first
Number of participants with at least one clinically significant abnormal laboratory resultFor 7 monthsPrespecified hematology, coagulation, and clinical chemistry laboratory tests will be measured in standard local laboratory units throughout the study. Each analyte will be assessed individually against the applicable reference range and for clinical significance. For this outcome measure, a patient will be counted once if he/she has at least one post-baseline abnormal clinically relevant laboratory value.
Number of Participants With Abnormal ECG FindingsFor 7 monthsTwelve-lead triplicate ECGs will be obtained at each scheduled assessment throughout the study. PR interval, QRS duration, QT interval, and QTcF interval will be measured on each of the three ECG tracings. Overall ECG interpretation (normal/abnormal) and clinical significance of any abnormality will be determined by the investigator or qualified reader based on review of the triplicate ECG assessment. For this outcome measure, a participant will be counted once if at least one post-baseline ECG assessment is abnormal.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Pure Tone AudiometryFor 7 months
Change in speech audiometryFor 7 months
Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly- Screening (HHIE-S) questionnaire scoreFor 7 months0 to 8 = 13% probability of hearing impairment (no handicap/no referal) 10 to 24= 50% probability of hearing impairment (mild-moderate handicap/refer) 26 to 40=84% probability of hearing impairment (severe handicap/refer)
Severity of tinnitusFor 7 monthsTinnitus assessment (acouphenometry) and Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI)
Distorsion Product OtoAcoustic Emission (DPOAE)For 7 months
Quality of Life (QoL) assessed using 15iSSQ scaleFor 7 monthsThe 15-item Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale is a 15-item questionnaire that evaluates hearing-related quality of life. It measures self-reported abilities in three specific hearing domains: Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of hearing. Higher scores indicate better hearing performance and fewer limitations in daily life.

Countries

Belgium

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jun 11, 2026