The Purpose of This Study is to Determine if Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is Effective in the Treatment of Pain Resulting From Chemotherapy Treatment (TTX-CINP-201)

Wex Pharmaceuticals

Status and phase: Terminated; Phase 2

Conditions: Peripheral Neuropathy; Neuropathic Pain; Pain

Treatments: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Tetrodotoxin

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Industry

Identifiers

NCT01655823

TTX-CINP-201

Details and patient eligibility

About

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a major dose-limiting side effect of many chemotherapeutic agents including vincristine, paclitaxel, cisplatin, oxaliplatin, bortezomib and ixabepilone. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy commonly occurs in greater than 40% of patients. To improve the peripheral neuropathy, the chemotherapy dosing is often either decreased or discontinued potentially affecting tumor responsiveness, prognosis, and survival.

There is an unmet medical need for treatment of cancer patients with chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain (CINP) and the proposed study will investigate the efficacy and safety of multiple dose levels of tetrodotoxin (TTX) versus placebo in moderate to severe neuropathic pain caused by chemotherapy.

Enrollment: 125 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• If female, not of childbearing potential.
• Patients with documented neuropathic pain
• Cancer Patients who have completed a chemotherapy regimen which included taxanes or platinums (or both) and have no evidence actively progressive disease. Concurrent hormonal therapies are allowed
• Patients with stable moderate to severe neuropathic pain
• Patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status score of 0 or 1.
• Patients who are able to complete the study-related questionnaires independently in either English or Spanish.

Exclusion criteria

• History of peripheral neuropathy attributed to any cause other than chemotherapy.
• Patients receiving any concurrent agents known to cause peripheral neuropathy within 30 days of Randomization.
• Current use of other therapy (ies), including "alternative" therapies, for treatment of peripheral neuropathy within 30 days of Randomization (with the exception of protocol allowed concurrent medications).
• Patients who used controlled release opioids within seven days of baseline period or who expect to use controlled release opioids at any time from baseline to end of study.
• Patients with abnormal kidney function.
• Patients with bone metastases.
• Patients scheduled for treatment for their cancer with chemotherapy or radiotherapy between screening and the end of study visit.
• Current use of lidocaine and other types of antiarrhythmic drugs within 30 days of Randomization.
• Current use of scopolamine and acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting drugs such as physostigmine within 30 days of Randomization.
• Current cause of Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathic Pain attributed to Velcade (Bortezomib) or vinca alkaloids or analogues such as vincristine, vinblasine, vinorelbine and vindesine.
• Current use of tricyclic antidepressant medication, anticonvulsants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
• Patients with current uncontrolled asthma or lung disease.
• Patients with significant heart disease.
• Use of an investigational agent within 30 days prior to screening or is scheduled to receive an investigational drug other than TTX during the course of the study.
• Females who are pregnant or nursing

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Quadruple Blind

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125 participants in 5 patient groups, including a placebo group

Placebo (twice daily)

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Placebo for injection (1 ml volume), twice a day for four consecutive days.

Treatment:

Drug: Placebo

Low dose Tetrodotoxin (twice daily)

Experimental group

Description:

Low dose Tetrodotoxin injectable (1 ml volume), twice a day for four consecutive days.

Treatment:

Drug: Tetrodotoxin

Mid-range dose of Tetrodotoxin (twice daily)

Experimental group

Description:

Mid-range dose Tetrodotoxin injectable (1 ml volume), twice a day for four consecutive days.

Treatment:

Drug: Tetrodotoxin

Max dose Tetrodotoxin (once daily)

Experimental group

Description:

Max dose Tetrodotoxin injectable (1 ml volume), once a day in the morning for four consecutive days and Placebo for injection (1 ml volume), once a day in the afternoon for four consecutive days. Total of 4 treatment days.

Treatment:

Drug: Tetrodotoxin

Drug: Placebo

Max dose Tetrodotoxin (twice daily)

Experimental group

Description:

Max dose Tetrodotoxin injectable (1 ml volume), twice a day for four consecutive days.

Treatment:

Drug: Tetrodotoxin