ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03780257StellarUpdated Apr 20, 2022

Study to Evaluate Safety and Tolerability of QR-421a in Subjects With RP Due to Mutations in Exon 13 of the USH2A Gene

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of QR-421a and Sham-procedure (dose cohort 1&2 only) in Retinitis Pigmentosa, Usher Syndrome Type 2 and Deaf Blind, sponsored by ProQR Therapeutics. Completed at 7 sites in 3 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-04-20.

Primary conditionUsher SyndromesRegistry: Retinitis PigmentosaReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Retinitis Pigmentosa — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Usher Syndromes
Why
  1. The study's listed conditions name Usher Syndromes, a narrower term within Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by ProQR Therapeutics · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Oct 2021, 5 years ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of QR-421a administered via intravitreal injection (IVT) in subjects with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) due to mutations in exon 13 of the USH2A gene.

Read the detailed description

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of QR-421a administered via IVT in subjects with RP due to mutations in exon 13 of the USH2A gene. Subjects will receive one single IVT injection of QR-421a or sham-procedure in one eye (subject's worse eye) and will be followed up for 24 months.

Three dose levels of QR-421a will be evaluated: 50, 100, and 200 µg. Additional dose levels (eg, 25 or 400 µg) may be evaluated based on ongoing safety and efficacy data monitoring.

Initial dose cohorts will include subjects randomized to sham-procedure or treatment with QR-421a. Additional subjects may be allocated to treatment with QR-421a in subsequent or initial dose cohorts.

02

Conditions studied

  • Retinitis Pigmentosa
  • Usher Syndrome Type 2
  • Deaf Blind
  • Retinal Disease
  • Eye Diseases
  • Eye Diseases, Hereditary
  • Eye Disorders Congenital
  • Vision Disorders

Keywords

  • Retinitis Pigmentosa
  • USH2A
  • RP
  • exon 13
  • RNA therapies
  • antisense oligonucleotide
  • exon skipping
  • STELLAR
  • IVT
  • mutations in exon 13 of the USH2A gene
  • NSRP
03

In context

Usher Syndromes Reclassified

33 studies on the registry are indexed under Usher Syndromes; 13 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 20 is below the median of 39 across 18 interventional studies indexed under Usher Syndromes.

Browse Usher Syndromes studies →

Lead sponsor

ProQR Therapeutics is the lead sponsor of 7 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Compared within Usher Syndromes, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Retinitis Pigmentosa. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
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. Male or female, ≥ 18 years of age.
  2. Clinical presentation consistent with RP with Usher syndrome type 2 or non-syndromic RP (NSRP), based on ophthalmic, audiologic, and vestibular examinations.
  3. A molecular diagnosis of homozygosity or compound heterozygosity for 1 or more pathogenic exon 13 mutations in the USH2A gene, based on genetic analysis upon Sponsor approval.
  4. Impairment of VF in the opinion of the Investigator, as determined by perimetry, with a continuous area of central field greater than or equal to 10 degrees diameter in any axis in the treatment eye, and evidence of functioning rods.
  5. Willing and able to comply with the protocol, follow study instructions, attend study visits as required and complete all study assessments.
  6. Willing and able to provide for participation prior to performing any study related procedures, and suitable verbal, auditory, written and/or tactile sign language communication as to allow informed consent to be obtained, in the opinion of the Investigator.
  7. No limitations to SD-OCT image collection that would prevent high quality, reliable images from being obtained in both eyes as determined by the investigator.
  8. Reliable perimetry measurements in both eyes, as described in the Imaging Manual and determined by the Investigator.
  9. Clear ocular media and adequate pupillary dilation to permit good quality retinal imaging, as assessed by the Investigator.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Presence of additional non-exon 13 USH2A pathogenic mutation(s) on the USH2A allele carrying the exon 13 mutation in subjects who are compound heterozygous for mutations in exon 13.
  2. Presence of non-exon 13 USH2A pathogenic mutation(s) on both USH2A alleles in subjects who are homozygous for mutations in exon 13.
  3. Presence of pathogenic mutations in genes (other than the USH2A gene) associated with Usher syndrome Type 2 or NSRP, or other inherited retinal degenerative diseases or syndromes.
  4. Presence of any significant ocular or non-ocular disease/disorder (or medication and/or laboratory test abnormalities) which, in the opinion of the Investigator and with concurrence of the Medical Monitor, may either put the subject at risk because of participation in the study, may influence the results of the study, or the subject's ability to participate in the study. This includes but is not limited to a subject who: 1) is not an appropriate candidate for antisense oligonucleotide treatment, 2) has cystoid macular edema (CME) in the treatment eye. CME is permissible if stable for 3 months (with or without treatment). Past CME is permissible if resolved for more than 1 month.
  5. History or presence of ocular herpetic diseases (including herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster or cytomegalovirus) in either eye.
  6. Presence of any active ocular infection in either eye.
  7. Presence of any of the following lens opacities in the treatment eye: cortical opacity ≥ +2, posterior subcapsular opacity ≥ +2, or a nuclear sclerosis ≥ +2, and which are: 1) in the opinion of the Investigator, 2) would adequately prevent clinical and photographic evaluation of the retina.
  8. History of amblyopia in the treatment eye.
  9. Worse than 6 diopters myopia in the treatment eye.
  10. Receipt within 3 months prior to Screening of any intraocular or periocular surgery (including refractive surgery), or an IVT injection or planned intraocular surgery or procedure during the course of the study.
  11. Current treatment or treatment within the past 12 months with therapies known to influence the immune system (including but not limited to implants, cytostatics, interferons, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-binding proteins, drugs acting on immunophilins, or antibodies with known impact on the immune system). Subjects that have been treated with systemic steroids within the past 12 months or that require intermittent use of topical steroids may be considered for inclusion following approval by the Medical Monitor.
  12. A history of glaucoma or an IOP greater than 24 mmHg in either eye that is not controlled with medication or surgery at the time of .
  13. Use of any drug or device within 90 days or 5 half-lives preceding the first dose of study medication, whichever is longer, or plans to participate in another study of an investigational drug or device during the PQ-421a-001 study period.
  14. Any prior treatment with genetic or stem-cell therapy for ocular or non-ocular disease.
  15. History of within 5 years prior to Screening, except adequately treated squamous or basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix that has been successfully treated.
  16. Known to antisense oligonucleotides or any constituents of the injection.
  17. Pregnant and breastfeeding subjects. Females of and males must comply with using highly effective methods of as defined in Section 6.2.2. Women of non-childbearing potential may be included without the use of adequate birth control, provided they meet the criteria in the protocol.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(8)

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.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

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.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
20 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    QR-421a

    Single dose administration

    Drug: QR-421a

  • Sham comparator
    Sham-procedure (dose cohort 1&2 only)

    Sham-procedure (no experimental drug administered)

    Other: Sham-procedure (dose cohort 1&2 only)

Interventions

  • DrugQR-421a

    RNA antisense oligonucleotide for intravitreal injection

    Also known as: RNA antisense oligonucleotide for intravitreal injection

  • OtherSham-procedure (dose cohort 1&2 only)

    Sham-procedure (no experimental drug administered)

    Also known as: Sham-procedure

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence and severity of ocular adverse events (AEs) in the treatment and contralateral eye

    Incidence and severity of ocular AEs

    Time frame: 24 months

  2. Incidence and severity of non-ocular AEs

    Incidence and severity of non-ocular AEs

    Time frame: 24 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in DAC perimetry

    Change in Dark Adapted Chromatic (DAC) perimetry

    Time frame: 24 months

  2. Change in static perimetry

    Change in static perimetry

    Time frame: 24 months

  3. Change in EZ area by SD-OCT

    Change in Ellipsoid Zone (EZ) area/width by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT)

    Time frame: 24 months

  4. Change in BCVA

    Change in Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA)

    Time frame: 24 months

  5. Change in LLVA

    Change in Low Luminance Visual Acuity (LLVA)

    Time frame: 24 months

  6. Change in microperimetry

    Change in microperimetry

    Time frame: 24 months

  7. Changes in FST

    Changes in Full-field Stimulus Threshold (FST)

    Time frame: 24 months

  8. Changes in FAF

    Changes in Fundus autofluorescence (FAF)

    Time frame: 24 months

  9. AUC (0-∞) of QR-421a in serum

    Area under the curve 0 hour to infinity \[AUC(0-∞)\] of QR-421a in serum

    Time frame: 24 months

  10. AUC (0-tlast) of QR-421a in serum

    Area under the curve 0 hour to the final sample with a concentration greater than lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) \[AUC(0-tlast)\] of QR-421a in serum

    Time frame: 24 months

  11. Cmax of QR-421a in serum

    Maximum concentration (Cmax) of QR-421a in serum

    Time frame: 24 months

  12. Tmax of QR-421a

    Time to maximum concentration (Tmax) of QR-421a

    Time frame: 24 months

  13. T1/2 of QR-421a

    Terminal elimination half-life (T1/2) of QR-421a

    Time frame: 24 months

  14. Serum clearance (CL) of QR-421a

    Serum clearance (CL) of QR-421a

    Time frame: 24 months

  15. Volume of distribution (Vd) of QR-421a

    Volume of distribution (Vd) of QR-421a

    Time frame: 24 months

07

Study locations

7 sites
  • Center for Clinical Research Operations, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
    Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
  • University of Michigan, Kellogg Eye Center
    Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, United States
  • Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University
    Portland, Oregon 97239, United States
  • Retina Foundation of the Southwest
    Dallas, Texas 75231, United States
  • Centre for Innovative Medicine, Department of Paediatric Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital at the McGill University Health Centre
    Montréal, H4A 3J1, Canada
  • Hôpital Gui de Chauliac - CHRU de Montpellier - Maladies Sensorielles Génétique
    Montpellier, 34295, France
  • Centre de maladies rares CHNO des Quinze Vingts
    Paris, 75012, France
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Miah KM, Hyde SC, Gill DR. Emerging gene therapies for cystic fibrosis. Expert Rev Respir Med. 2019 Aug;13(8):709-725. doi: 10.1080/17476348.2019.1634547. Epub 2019 Jun 27. PubMed 31215818 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Mar 2019 to primary completion in Oct 2021, 31 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Dec 17, 2018
First posted
Dec 19, 2018
StartActual
Mar 6, 2019
Primary completionActual
Oct 14, 2021
CompletionActual
Oct 14, 2021
Last update
Apr 20, 2022
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 20, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03780257
Lead sponsor
ProQR Therapeutics
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 19, 2018
Start date
Mar 6, 2019
Primary completion
Oct 14, 2021
Completion
Oct 14, 2021
Last update
Apr 20, 2022

Study contacts

ProQR Medical Monitor
study director · ProQR Therapeutics
ProQR Clinical Trial Manager
study director · ProQR Therapeutics

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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