Evaluating Interferon-Gamma 1b for treating Candidemia

Safety and Efficacy of Recombinant Interferon-Gamma 1b (rIFN-Gamma 1b) Given With Standard Therapy in Patients With Candidemia

This study is testing if adding a new treatment called Interferon-Gamma 1b to standard antifungal care can help people with candidemia get better.

Quick facts

• Phase: PHASE2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 200 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Radboud University Medical Center (other)
• Drugs / interventions: immunotherapy
• Locations: 6 sites (Durham, North Carolina and 5 other locations)
• Trial ID: NCT04979052 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This is a multi-center, open-label, adaptive randomized interventional phase 2 study aimed at assessing the safety and efficacy of recombinant Interferon-Gamma 1b (rIFN-y) in patients diagnosed with candidemia. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either rIFN-y immunotherapy alongside standard antifungal care or standard care alone. The treatment involves subcutaneous administration of rIFN-y three times a week for two weeks or until hospital discharge. The study will also evaluate clinical outcomes and relevant biomarkers to inform the immunotherapeutic approach.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates include adults aged 18 and older with confirmed candidemia and clinical signs of infection.

Not a fit: Patients who are pregnant or have severe comorbid conditions that contraindicate participation may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this treatment could provide a new immunotherapeutic option for patients suffering from candidemia.

How similar studies have performed: While the use of immunotherapy in fungal infections is an emerging field, this specific approach with rIFN-y has not been extensively tested in prior studies.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Males or non-pregnant females (who must agree to use barrier methods of contraception during the study therapy period, women of childbearing age must have a negative urine pregnancy or serum test at baseline).
* Subjects who are 18 years of age or older.
* Subjects with at least one positive blood culture isolation of Candida species from a specimen drawn within 120 hours prior to study entry.
* Subjects who have clinical evidence of infection sometime within 120 hours prior to enrolment, including at least one of the following:

  * Temperature \>37.8 ˚C on two occasions at least four hours apart or one measurement \> 38.2 ˚C
  * Systolic blood pressure \<90 or a \>30 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure from the subject's normal baseline or the need for vassopressive therapy.
  * Signs of inflammation (swelling, heat, erythema, purulent drainage) from a site infected with Candida (e.g. joint, skin, eye, bone, oesophagus).
  * Radiologic findings of invasive candidiasis.
* Subject or their legal representative must sign a written informed consent form.
* In case a patient eligible to participate in this study is incapacitated and as such unable to personally provide informed consent, a written consent form must be signed by their legal representative.

  * Only incapacitated patients that can be expected to regain the capability to consent will be included in this study. In this case, informed consent will be discussed personally with the study participant after recovery.
  * The inclusion of incapacitated subjects will only be performed under the above conditions in a country in which such an approach is legal and deemed ethically acceptable.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Subjects with a history of allergy or intolerance to rIFN-γ,or any other IMP ingredient or with a history of immediate type hypersensitivity to latex/rubber.
* Subjects with a history of documented epileptic seizures.
* Subjects with severe liver failure ((\>5x upper limit AST or ALT or impaired synthesis of proteins such as coagulation factors manifested by increased prothrombin time).
* Treatment with heterologous serum proteins, or immunological preparations such as vaccines, toxins, serums and allergens within three days before trial enrolment.
* Women who are pregnant or lactating.
* Subjects who are unlikely to survive more than 24 hours.
* Subjects who have failed previous systemic antifungal therapy for the Candida spp.

infection which is being studied.

* Subjects who have received more than 120 hours of systemic antifungal therapy for the current episode, within 120 hours prior to study entry.
* With respect to incapacitated subjects:
* Any patient that is deemed incapable of personally providing informed consent due to a neurodegenerative disease, genetic syndrome, and/or perinatal asphyxia, will not be eligible for inclusion in this trial.
* Any incapacitated subject that is not expected to recover to a point where they will personally be able to provide informed consent will not be eligible for inclusion in this trial. Patients with renal failure or dialysis do not have a contraindication for treatment with rIFN-y and can be included in this study

Where this trial is running

Durham, North Carolina and 5 other locations

• Duke University — Durham, North Carolina, United States (RECRUITING)
• Klinikum Der Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe Universitaet — Frankfurt am main, Germany (RECRUITING)
• Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS) — Athens, Greece (RECRUITING)
• Radboudumc — Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands (RECRUITING)
• Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie luliu Hatieganu — Cluj-Napoca, Romania (RECRUITING)
• Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois — Lausanne, Switzerland (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Frank vd Veerdonk, Dr. — Radboud University Medical Center
• Study coordinator: Frank vd Veerdonk, Dr.

Conditions: Candidemia, Interferon Gamma 1b