Pilot Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of 5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC in Subjects With COVID-19

NCT ID: NCT04542850

Last Updated: 2022-02-09

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

15 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-11-15

Study Completion Date

2021-10-28

Brief Summary

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This is an open-label, interventional exploratory study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC in subjects with acute moderate or severe respiratory illness secondary to infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) involving 40 subjects.

The primary objective is to evaluate the safety of 4-week oral administration of 5-ALAPhosphate + SFC. This study is expected to last for 4 weeks and will include follow-up until day 28 in the hospital or in an outpatient setting if the subjects are discharged earlier.

Detailed Description

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This is an open-label, interventional exploratory study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC in subjects with acute moderate or severe respiratory illness secondary to infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19).

Heme is critical for appropriate oxygen binding and delivery to remote site and without the heme contained within the hemoglobin tetramer, multicellular organisms would be unable to survive. Furthermore HO-1 degrades heme into biliverdin, carbon monoxide (CO), and iron, and biliverdin is immediately reduced and turned into bilirubin by biliverdin reductase. Biliverdin/bilirubin and CO both have anti-oxidative functions and they regulate important biological processes like inflammation, apoptosis, cell proliferation, fibrosis, and angiogenesis. Therefore, HO-1 is deemed to be a promising drug target (Ryter 2006). HO-1 is a major anti-inflammatory enzyme and a key regulator that induces immune tolerance. 5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC increases heme metabolism and HO-1 via enhancement of porphyrin biology and utilizes the HO-1 for endothelial pacification strategy.

The primary endpoints of this study is- all treatment emergent AEs and SAEs Grade III and IV (CTC) with reasonable possibility of causal relationship to 5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC. 40 subjects with symptoms requiring hospitalization will be enrolled in thestudy, with 20 subjects enrolled in each group below:

Group 1: 20 Moderately ill hospitalized subjects not requiring assisted ventilation Group 2: 20 Severely ill hospitalized subjects requiring assisted ventilation

The duration of this clinical study will be 4 weeks, and follow-up will be performed until Day 28 in hospital, or in an outpatient setting if subjects improve and are discharged home or to alternative care facility.

Conditions

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SARS-CoV 2 COVID-19

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

This is an open label pilot study involving 40 patients with COVID-19 disease. Patients that are hospitalized due to confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection will be assigned to two groups according o their severity grade (moderate or severe).
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Moderate group and Severe Group

Moderate group and Severe group - . Both groups will be administered 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a natural delta amino acid widely present in nature that can be found in common food. 5-ALA combined with sodium ferrous citrate (SFC) produces the nutritional dietary supplement 5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC (5-ALA + SFC).

Group Type OTHER

5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC (5-ALA + SFC)

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Moderately ill hospitalized patients will receive:

250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) two times daily (resulting in 500 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 286.8 mg SFC (30.4 mg as Fe) daily) for 7 days, then 250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) once daily for 21 days

Severely ill hospitalized patients will receive:

250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) three times daily (resulting in 750 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 430.2 mg SFC (45.6 mg as Fe) daily) for 7 days, then 250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) once daily for 21 days

Interventions

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5-ALA-Phosphate + SFC (5-ALA + SFC)

Moderately ill hospitalized patients will receive:

250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) two times daily (resulting in 500 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 286.8 mg SFC (30.4 mg as Fe) daily) for 7 days, then 250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) once daily for 21 days

Severely ill hospitalized patients will receive:

250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) three times daily (resulting in 750 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 430.2 mg SFC (45.6 mg as Fe) daily) for 7 days, then 250 mg 5-ALA-Phosphate and 143.4 mg SFC (15.2 mg as Fe) once daily for 21 days

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. Willing and able to provide written informed consent, or with a legal representative who can provide informed consent
2. Aged ≥ 21 to 70 years
3. Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test before beginning study dose regime
4. qSOFA ≥ 1
5. Currently hospitalized
6. Moderate COVID-19 patients should meet any of the following criteria:

evidence of lower respiratory disease by clinical assessment (qSOFA ≥ 1or imaging) and saturation of oxygen (SpO2) ≥94% on room air at sea level.

Severe COVID-19 patients should meet any of the following criteria: a respiratory frequency \>30 breaths per minute, SpO2 \<94% on room air at sea level, ratio of arterial partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2) \<300 mmHg, and lung infiltrates \>50% (if possible to measure). In exceptional cases the investigator can decide due to certain signs and symptoms to assign a moderate patient to the severe group although not all criteria mentioned before are fulfilled (to be documented with explanation).
7. Radiographic evidence (chest X-ray or chest CT scan) of pulmonary infiltrates
8. Able to swallow 5 capsules of study product at dosing time points.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Subject has critical symptoms of COVID19 infection as defined as: high-flow oxygen therapy (\>15 l/min delivered by nasal cannula or mask) or invasive mechanical ventilation signifying respiratory failure, septic shock, and/or multiple organ dysfunction ventilation at screening.
2. Subject is nourished via a nasogastric tube
3. Subject has acute or chronic type(s) of porphyria or a family history of porphyria
4. Subject has demonstrated previous intolerance of 5-ALA and/or SFC by topical or oral administration (except for photosensitivity)
5. Pregnant or nursing women
6. Males and females of reproductive potential who have not agreed to use an
7. adequate method of contraception during the study For females, adequate birth control methods will be defined as: hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine device or double barrier contraception, i.e., condom + diaphragm, condom or diaphragm + spermicidal gel or foam For males, adequate birth control methods will be defined as double barrier contraception, i.e., condom + diaphragm, condom or diaphragm + spermicidal gel or foam For females, menopause is defined as one year without menses; if in question, a folliclestimulating hormone of \>40 U/ml must be documented. Hysterectomy, bilateral oophorectomy,or bilateral tubal ligation must be documented, as applicable
8. Subjects who are unable or unwilling to comply with requirements of the clinical trial
9. Participation in any other clinical trial of an experimental treatment for COVID-19
10. Evidence of multiorgan failure
11. Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \> 5 X upper limit of normal (ULN)
12. Creatinine clearance \< 50 mL/min using the Cockcroft-Gault formula for participants ≥ 18 years of age {Cockcroft 1976}
13. Any other reason that makes the subject unsuitable in the Investigator's opinion
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Bahrain Defence Force Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Salmaniya Medical Complex

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Medical University of Bahrain

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Abdullah Darwish, Dr

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Services, Military Hospital

Locations

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Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Services, Military Hospital

Manama, , Bahrain

Site Status

Salmaniya Medical Complex

Manama, , Bahrain

Site Status

Countries

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Bahrain

References

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Ibanez FJ, Farias MA, Retamal-Diaz A, Espinoza JA, Kalergis AM, Gonzalez PA. Pharmacological Induction of Heme Oxygenase-1 Impairs Nuclear Accumulation of Herpes Simplex Virus Capsids upon Infection. Front Microbiol. 2017 Oct 31;8:2108. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02108. eCollection 2017.

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Ito H, Nishio Y, Hara T, Sugihara H, Tanaka T, Li XK. Oral administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid induces heme oxygenase-1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy human subjects in combination with ferrous iron. Eur J Pharmacol. 2018 Aug 15;833:25-33. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2018.05.009. Epub 2018 May 10.

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Nishio Y, Fujino M, Zhao M, Ishii T, Ishizuka M, Ito H, Takahashi K, Abe F, Nakajima M, Tanaka T, Taketani S, Nagahara Y, Li XK. 5-Aminolevulinic acid combined with ferrous iron enhances the expression of heme oxygenase-1. Int Immunopharmacol. 2014 Apr;19(2):300-7. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2014.02.003. Epub 2014 Feb 13.

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Protzer U, Seyfried S, Quasdorff M, Sass G, Svorcova M, Webb D, Bohne F, Hosel M, Schirmacher P, Tiegs G. Antiviral activity and hepatoprotection by heme oxygenase-1 in hepatitis B virus infection. Gastroenterology. 2007 Oct;133(4):1156-65. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2007.07.021. Epub 2007 Jul 25.

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Saito K, Fujiwara T, Ota U, Hatta S, Ichikawa S, Kobayashi M, Okitsu Y, Fukuhara N, Onishi Y, Ishizuka M, Tanaka T, Harigae H. Dynamics of absorption, metabolism, and excretion of 5-aminolevulinic acid in human intestinal Caco-2 cells. Biochem Biophys Rep. 2017 Jul 13;11:105-111. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2017.07.006. eCollection 2017 Sep.

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Schmidt WN, Mathahs MM, Zhu Z. Heme and HO-1 Inhibition of HCV, HBV, and HIV. Front Pharmacol. 2012 Oct 4;3:129. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2012.00129. eCollection 2012.

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Tseng CK, Lin CK, Wu YH, Chen YH, Chen WC, Young KC, Lee JC. Human heme oxygenase 1 is a potential host cell factor against dengue virus replication. Sci Rep. 2016 Aug 24;6:32176. doi: 10.1038/srep32176.

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Zhong M, Wang H, Ma L, Yan H, Wu S, Gu Z, Li Y. DMO-CAP inhibits influenza virus replication by activating heme oxygenase-1-mediated IFN response. Virol J. 2019 Feb 20;16(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s12985-019-1125-9.

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Brooks A., Study 8259980 5-ALA/SFC: A Phase I, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Single and Multiple Oral Dose, Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetic Study in Healthy Caucasian and Japanese Subjects, Covance: Leeds and London, UK (2013)

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Investigator's Brochure, SBI Pharmaceuticals Internal Document: 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA)Phosphate Version 1.0. July, 2020

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Matsumoto C., Study ALA-01 "Bioequivalence study of test foods A, B, and C - Based on the PlasmaConcentration of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid." Kaiyu Clinic: Tokyo Japan (2010)

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World Health Organization (WHO) R&D Blueprint: Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Therapuetic Trial Synopsis. Draft dated February 18, 2020. Accesssed online 09Jul20 at https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/COVID- 19_Treatment_Trial_Design_Master_Protocol_synopsis_Final_18022020.pdf

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

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68 / 02-Aug-2020

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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