ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT04874350Updated Mar 15, 2024

A Study to Assess the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Oral LPCN 1148 in Male Subjects With Cirrhosis of the Liver and Sarcopenia

A Phase 2 interventional study of LPCN 1148 and Placebo in Liver Cirrhosis and Sarcopenia, sponsored by Lipocine Inc.. Completed at 10 sites in United States. Open to male participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-03-15.

Sponsored by Lipocine Inc. · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Dec 2023, 2 years 10 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of LPCN 1148 in men with cirrhosis of the liver and sarcopenia.

Read the detailed description

This is a 52-week, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two arm study of LPCN 1148 in adult men with cirrhosis of the liver and sarcopenia on the liver transplant waitlist. This study will evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of LPCN 1148, determined through a range of clinical outcomes and functional and laboratory tests.

Approximately 48 subjects will be randomized 1:1 ratio to receive one of the following treatments:

  • Treatment A: Oral LPCN 1148
  • Treatment B: Oral matching placebo.

Subjects will undergo a screening period to determine study eligibility. Adult male subjects with liver cirrhosis and sarcopenia on the transplant list will be enrolled into the study.

There are two treatment phases to this study.

  • Stage 1: 24 weeks of blinded study treatment (LPCN 1148 or matching placebo)
  • Stage 2: 28-week open-label extension. Subjects who participate in Stage 1 of this trial will roll over to a 28-week open-label extension phase. All subjects will receive LPCN 1148; there will be no placebo in the extension period.
02

Conditions studied

  • Liver Cirrhosis
  • Sarcopenia
03

In context

Liver Cirrhosis

1,298 studies on the registry are indexed under Liver Cirrhosis; 338 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 78 across 739 interventional studies indexed under Liver Cirrhosis.

Browse Liver Cirrhosis studies →

Lead sponsor

Lipocine Inc. is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Of its 7 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 5 (71%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Male
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 ≥ 18 years old
  2. Currently listed, on the liver transplant waitlist for cirrhosis secondary to or C infection, Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD), Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), or Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC)
  3. Evidence of sarcopenia with appropriate cutoff recommended by clinical guidance

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Suspected or proven hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
  2. History of current or suspected prostate or breast cancer
  3. History of other than prostate, breast, or HCC, unless successfully treated with curative intent and believed to be cured (defined as complete remission lasting at least 5 years)
  4. History of uncontrolled or recurrent portal hypertensive bleeding, including uncontrolled or recurrent bleeding from varices, gastropathy, colopathy, or hemorrhoidal bleeding in the past 6 months.
  5. History or current thrombosis (including portal vein thrombosis), thromboembolism, or treatment for portal vein thrombosis
  6. History of hemochromatosis
  7. History of hypercoagulable state (e.g. Factor V Leiden deficiency, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, anti-thrombin III deficiency, or the presence of lupus anticoagulant)
  8. Prior history of complications of ascites in the past 6 months including:

    1. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
    2. Hepatic hydrothorax
  9. MELD score > 25
  10. Abnormal lab value in serum chemistry, hematology, or urinalysis that the PI considers , including but not limited to:

    1. PSA > 4 ng/mL
    2. Polycythemia (Hematocrit > ) or history of polycythemia
    3. or AST > 5x ULN
    4. ALP > 2x ULN; subjects with PBC or PSC are excluded if ALP is > 10x ULN
    5. count \< 30,000/mL
    6. EGFR \< 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 for subjects not undergoing routine, scheduled dialysis
    7. Serum albumin \< 2.0 g/dL
    8. > 2.3
  11. Subjects with PSA between 2.5 ng/mL and 4 ng/mL are excluded only if any of the below criteria are met at baseline:

    1. Hematocrit > 48%
    2. I-PSS > 19
    3. Any irregularity found on digital rectal examination of the prostate
  12. Subjects with PSA > 3 ng/mL are excluded only if any of the below criteria are met at baseline:

    1. Subject is African American
    2. Subject has a first-degree relative who has a history of prostate cancer
    3. Hematocrit > 48%
    4. I-PSS > 19
    5. Any irregularity found on digital rectal examination of the prostate
  13. Clinically significant abnormal prostate digital rectal examination (DRE) in the opinion of the PI, with DRE screening initiated at International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) > 19
  14. History of bariatric surgery
  15. History of stroke or myocardial infarction within the past 5 years
  16. History of TIPS within the past 6 months, or TIPS procedure expected within 6 months of Day 1
  17. Known positivity for (HIV) infection
  18. Acute liver failure as the indication for addition to the liver transplant waitlist
  19. Estimated less than 3 months or expected to undergo liver transplant within 3 months
  20. Known heart failure of class III or IV
  21. Evidence of severe encephalopathy at screening encephalopathy that is not controlled despite adequate medical therapy
  22. History of prior organ transplant
  23. History of Fontan physiology
  24. History of pulmonary embolus
  25. Porto-pulmonary hypertension
  26. Hepatopulmonary syndrome requiring standing home supplemental oxygen therapy, or MELD exception points for hepatopulmonary syndrome
  27. Uncontrolled epilepsy or migraine
  28. Active substance abuse or dependency extending to within the previous 3 months
  29. History of significant sensitivity or allergy to testosterone, or product .
  30. Use of known strong inhibitors (e.g., ketoconazole) or inducers (e.g., dexamethasone, phenytoin, rifampin, carbamazepine) of cytochrome P450 3A () within 30 days prior to study drug administration and through the end of the study
  31. Subjects who are currently receiving any androgens (testosterone or other androgens or androgen-containing supplements) and are unwilling to prior to screening

    a. Washout: 12 weeks following long-acting intramuscular androgen injections; 4 weeks following topical or buccal androgens; 3 weeks following oral androgens

  32. Uncontrolled hypertension (>160/90 mmHg despite treatment)
  33. Uncontrolled obstructive sleep apnea
  34. Use of any drug within 5 half-lives of the last dose or in the past 6 months prior to Study Day -2 without medical monitor and/or Sponsor approval
  35. Subject who is not willing to use adequate for the duration of the study
  36. Any other condition, which in the opinion of the investigator would impede compliance to the study protocol (including diet, exercise, and alcohol abstinence) or hinder completion of the study
  37. Failure to give
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(16)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

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.

Life expectancy

The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

Excipients

The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.

CYP3A (CYP3A4) inhibitors and inducers

CYP3A is a group of enzymes, mainly CYP3A4, in the liver and gut that break down many medicines. Some medicines, supplements and foods (grapefruit, St John’s wort) slow them down or speed them up, which changes how much of a study drug stays in the body.

Studies list them so they can be avoided or switched; bring a list of everything you take, including supplements.

Washout period

A planned gap after a treatment, so that its effects can lessen before the study treatment or a study assessment. Ask the study team and the doctor who prescribed it before changing any medicine.

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.

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.

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.

05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    LPCN 1148

    Oral LPCN 1148 capsules, administered as BID.

    Drug: LPCN 1148

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Oral matching placebo capsules, administered as BID.

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugLPCN 1148

    LPCN 1148 is an oral capsule product containing an ester prodrug of bioidentical testosterone, designed to enable absorption via intestinal lymphatics.

  • DrugPlacebo

    Oral matching placebo capsule

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline in Skeletal Muscle Index in LPCN 1148 treated subjects compared to placebo

    Time frame: 24 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline in Liver Frailty Index in LPCN 1148 treated subjects compared to placebo

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  2. Change in number of breakthrough hepatic encephalopathy events in LPCN 1148 treated subjects compared to placebo

    Breakthrough hepatic encephalopathy was defined as events of hepatic encephalopathy with a Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade greater than grade 1

    Time frame: 24 weeks

07

Study locations

10 sites
  • Mayo Clinic
    Scottsdale, Arizona 85259, United States
  • University of California, Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
  • University of California San Francisco
    San Francisco, California 94117, United States
  • University of Maryland Medical Center
    Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
    Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
  • Methodist Health System
    Dallas, Texas 75203, United States
  • University of Texas Southwestern
    Dallas, Texas 75309, United States
  • Mt.Olympus Medical Research
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • Intermountain Healthcare
    Murray, Utah 84107, United States
  • University of Utah
    Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 15, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04874350
Lead sponsor
Lipocine Inc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 5, 2021
Start date
Nov 30, 2021
Primary completion
Dec 18, 2023
Completion
Dec 18, 2023
Last update
Mar 15, 2024

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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