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CompletedNCT02456558Updated Jun 7, 2016

Evaluation of the Safety, Efficacy, and Pharmacokinetics of Intravenous Deferiprone in HIV-Positive Subjects

A Phase 1 interventional study of Intravenous deferiprone and Placebo in Asymptomatic HIV Infection, sponsored by ApoPharma. Completed at 2 sites in South Africa. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-06-07.

Sponsored by ApoPharma (part of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.) · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, antiretroviral activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of an intravenous formulation of deferiprone in HIV-infected subjects.

Read the detailed description

This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in 30 asymptomatic HIV-positive adults. There are two sequential cohorts, in which subjects will receive either one of 2 doses of deferiprone or placebo twice daily.

02

Conditions studied

  • Asymptomatic HIV Infection

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Keywords

  • HIV infection
  • antiretroviral drugs
  • deferiprone
  • pharmacokinetics
03

In context

HIV Infections

4,734 studies on the registry are indexed under HIV Infections; 244 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 80 across 3,489 interventional studies indexed under HIV Infections.

Browse HIV Infections studies →

Lead sponsor

ApoPharma is the lead sponsor of 23 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • -1 positive
  • HIV treatment-naïve: no previous treatment with a combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) or highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimen
  • HIV-1 RNA > 10,000 copies/mL
  • or AST ≤ 2.0 x , and within normal range
  • (BMI) of 18.5 to 30.0 kg/m\^2
  • at baseline of ≥1.0 x 10\^9/L (black African population only) or ≥1.5 x 10\^9/L (all other races)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Evidence of AIDS-associated illness, excluding superficial candidiasis
  • of \< 350/mm\^3
  • Positive for active or latent tuberculosis, as determined by the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold test
  • Active, serious infections (other than -1 infection) within the 30 days prior to screening
  • Positive for surface antigen (HBsAg) and/or hepatitis virus C () antibodies
  • History or presence of
  • A serious, unstable chronic illness during the past 3 months before screening
  • A serious, unresolved acute illness at screening
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(10)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

CD4 count

The number of CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell, in a given amount of blood. It is used to follow how well the immune system is doing in HIV.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
30 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intravenous deferiprone, 1.5 g

    Subjects in this arm will receive an infusion of intravenous deferiprone at a dose of 1.5 g, twice-daily

    Drug: Intravenous deferiprone

  • Experimental
    Intravenous deferiprone, 2 g

    Subjects in this arm will receive an infusion of intravenous deferiprone at a dose of 2 g, twice-daily

    Drug: Intravenous deferiprone

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Subjects in this arm will receive an infusion of placebo twice-daily for 10 days, at a volume equivalent to that of the active product in the respective cohort

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • In Cohort 1, the subjects who were randomized to get active product will receive deferiprone at a dose of 1.5 g per infusion, and if there are no significant safety concerns, the subjects in Cohort 2 who were randomized to get active product will receive it a a dose of 2 g per infusion.

    Also known as: IV DFP, Deferiprone injection, solution

  • DrugPlacebo

    In both cohorts, the subjects who were randomized to get placebo will receive an infusion of placebo solution that is equal in volume to that of the active product.

    Also known as: Normal saline solution (0.9% w/v NaCl)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline in HIV viral load

    Time frame: Day 1 to Day 56

  2. Change from baseline in CD4+ T-cell count

    Time frame: Day 1 to Day 56

  3. Change from baseline in level of HIV DNA in peripheral blood mononucleated cells

    Time frame: Day 1 to Day 56

  4. Proportion of subjects withdrawn due to the need for rescue medication

    Time frame: Day 1 to Day 56

  5. Number of subjects with adverse events

    Time frame: Day 1 to Day 56

Secondary outcomes

  1. The pharmacokinetics parameters of Cmax, Tmax, and AUC0-∞, and T1/2 for deferiprone will be determined pre-dose and at specified time points post-dose

    Time frame: 10-hour interval

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Phoenix Pharma
    Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6001, South Africa
  • VxPharma
    Pretoria, 0087, South Africa
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 7, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02456558
Lead sponsor
ApoPharma
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 28, 2015
Start date
Jun 2015
Primary completion
Mar 2016
Completion
May 2016
Last update
Jun 7, 2016

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Deferiprone

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