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WithdrawnNCT04311294Updated May 25, 2021

Development of a Selective ALDH2 Inhibitor to Treat AUD

A Phase 2 interventional study of ANS-6637 Low Dose and ANS-6637 High Dose in Alcohol Use Disorder, sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles. Withdrawn at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 21 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-05-25.

Sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was withdrawn
Project was not funded.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
21 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a highly prevalent, costly, and often untreated condition in the United States. Pharmacotherapy offers a promising avenue for treating AUD and for improving clinical outcomes for this debilitating disorder. While developing novel medications to treat AUD remains a high priority research area, there are major opportunities to refine the process of screening novel compounds.

A promising novel pharmacology for AUD consists of the ANS-6637 compound which provides novel aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibition. Unlike disulfiram, a non-selective and irreversible ALDH2 and ALDH1 inhibitor, which produces an aversive flushing response, the oral ANS-6637 compound is a selective and reversible inhibitor of ALDH2 that attenuates the surge in dopamine (DA). Specifically, a preclinical study found that ANS-6637 blunted the surge of DA in ventral tegmental neurons without affecting the basal levels of DA in vivo in a rodent model of alcohol seeking behavior. In rodent models, selective and reversible ALDH2 inhibitors decrease alcohol seeking and taking, prevent operant self-administration, and block cue-induced reinstatement. These results suggest that ANS-6637 may be an effective treatment to reduce heavy drinking and suppress relapse in individuals with AUD.

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose response study of ANS-6637. A total of 75 men and women with current AUD will be randomly assigned to receive (a) ANS-6637 (200 mg), (b) ANS-6637 (600 mg), or (c) matched placebo for 7 days. On Day 4, participants will complete an fMRI task before and 45-minutes after a priming dose of alcohol (target Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) of 0.03 g/dl). On Day 7 participants will return to the laboratory to complete an oral alcohol administration paradigm. The successful completion of this study will advance medications development for AUD by advancing the development of ANS-6637, a novel and promising compound for AUD.

02

Conditions studied

  • Alcohol Use Disorder

Keywords

  • Alcohol Use Disorder
  • Medications Development
03

In context

Alcoholism

1,606 studies on the registry are indexed under Alcoholism; 329 are open to participants now.

Browse Alcoholism studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles is the lead sponsor of 1,142 studies on the registry; 192 are open to participants now.

Of its 91 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 66 (73%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
21 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. 21 years and older (adult, older adult);
  2. meeet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (moderate or severe);
  3. report drinking at least 48 standard drinks in a 30-day period, during the 90 days before enrollment.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. current treatment for alcohol problems;
  2. a history of treatment for alcohol problems in the 30 days before enrollment;
  3. currently seeking treatment for alcohol problems;
  4. current DSM-5 diagnosis of dependence on any psychoactive substances other than alcohol or nicotine;
  5. lifetime DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or any psychotic disorder;
  6. positive urine screen for narcotics, amphetamines, or sedative hypnotics;
  7. serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms as indicated by a score of ≥10 on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised (CIWA-Ar)
  8. pregnant, nursing, or refusal to use reliable birth control method (if female);
  9. medical condition that may interfere with safe study participation (e.g. unstable cardiac, renal, or liver disease, uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes);
  10. AST, ALT, or GGT ≥ 3 times upper limit of normal;
  11. attempted suicide in the past 3 years and/or serious suicidal intention or plan in the past year;
  12. currently on prescription medication that contraindicates use of ANS-6637;
  13. other circumstances that, in the opinion of the investigators, compromises participant safety
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    ANS-6637 Low Dose

    200mg ANS-6637 (2 tablets)

    Drug: ANS-6637 Low Dose

  • Active comparator
    ANS-6637 High Dose

    600mg ANS-6637 (2 tablets)

    Drug: ANS-6637 High Dose

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    0mg matched placebo (2 tablets)

    Drug: Matched Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugANS-6637 Low Dose

    ANS-6647 is a selective, reversible, and orally bioavailable aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibitor. It will be tested at a low dose (200mg) and a high dose (600mg) against matched placebo.

  • DrugANS-6637 High Dose

    ANS-6647 is a selective, reversible, and orally bioavailable aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibitor. It will be tested at a low dose (200mg) and a high dose (600mg) against matched placebo.

  • DrugMatched Placebo

    ANS-6647 is a selective, reversible, and orally bioavailable aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) inhibitor. It will be tested at a low dose (200mg) and a high dose (600mg) against matched placebo.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Subjective Response to Alcohol

    Participants will complete an oral alcohol challenge and will rate their subjective responses to alcohol at baseline (BrAC = 0.00 g/dl) and at 30, 45, 60, 120, and 180 minutes post alcohol. The primary outcome variables will be (a) alcohol craving, (b) stimulant/reward, and (c) sedative/aversive effects of alcohol.

    Time frame: Baseline, 30-, 45-, 60-, 120-, and 180-minutes post alcohol

  2. Change in Neural Alcohol Cue Reactivity

    Participants will complete a neuroimaging paradigm in which they view alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage cues and will rate their subjective craving for alcohol. The primary outcome variable will be BOLD activation to alcohol cues in mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry.

    Time frame: Assessed on Day 4. Scan duration 1 hour.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • UCLA Addictions Lab
    Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — All data collected in this project will be shared (after appropriate de-identification) with the scientific community in a timely manner, in accordance with NIH Policy. Specifically, the dataset will be made available to the scientific community upon request and a data application will be required. These procedures are consistent with the recent NIAAA announcement: NOT-AA-18-010

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 25, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04311294
Lead sponsor
University of California, Los Angeles
Collaborators
Amygdala Neurosciences, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Responsible party
Lara Ray, PhD (Professor, University of California, Los Angeles) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 17, 2020
Start date
Apr 2020 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jan 2022 (estimated)
Completion
Mar 2022 (estimated)
Last update
May 25, 2021

Study contacts

Lara Ray, PhD
principal investigator · University of California, Los Angeles
Erica Grodin, PhD
principal investigator · University of California, Los Angeles

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 withdrawn, as verified in May 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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