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TerminatedNCT04895748Updated Mar 3, 2026

DFF332 as a Single Agent and in Combination With Everolimus & Immuno-Oncology Agents in Advanced/Relapsed Renal Cancer & Other Malignancies

A Phase 1 interventional study of DFF332 and RAD001 in Carcinoma, Renal Cell, sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Terminated at 11 sites in 7 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-03.

Sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Business decision and not related to safety concerns
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 100 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This was a first in human study of DFF332, a small molecule that targets a protein called HIF2α. By acting on HIF2α, DFF332 may be able to stop the growth of certain types of cancer. DFF332 was planned to be tested at different doses as single agent and in combination with Everolimus (RAD001, an mTOR inhibitor), and also in combination with Spartalizumab (PDR001, an anti-PD1) plus Taminadenant (NIR178, an adenosine A2A receptor antagonist), in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma and other malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations.

Read the detailed description

This was a first in human (FIH), Phase I/Ib, open-label, multi-center study of DFF332 as a single agent and in combination with Everolimus or Spartalizumab plus Taminadenant in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma and other malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations.

The study consisted of two parts, dose escalation and dose expansion. The dose escalation part of the study initially evaluated DFF332 single agent. Dose escalation groups receiving DFF332 in combination with Everolimus or DFF332 in combination with Spartalizumab plus Taminadenant were planned to be opened after at least two dose levels of single agent DFF332 had been evaluated.

The dose expansion part of single agent included two treatment arms: Arm1A was planned to enroll ccRCC patients (age 18 yo or above) and Arm1B was planned to enroll patients with malignancies harboring HIF stabilizing mutations (age 12 yo and above). These included the following:

  • Malignancies with VHL mutations (e.g. Von Hippel-Lindau disease)
  • Malignancies with FH mutations (e.g. Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma)
  • Malignancies with mutations in SDHD, SDHAF2, SDHC, SDHB, SDHA (e.g. Hereditary paraganglioma and pheochromocytoma syndrome)
  • Malignancies with EPAS1/HIF2A mutations
  • Malignancies with ELOC/TCEB1 mutations

The expansion part of the combination therapies was planned to enroll patients with ccRCC and to include Arm2A (DFF332 with Everolimus) and Arm3A (DFF332 with Spartalizumab plus Taminadenant).

Novartis halted enrollment of study CDFF332A12101 in September 2023 due to business reasons and not due to safety concerns. The DFF332 single agent dose expansion arms and the dose escalation and expansion of the combination arms did not open.

02

Conditions studied

  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell

Keywords

  • ccRCC
  • RCC
  • Kidney
  • DFF332
  • NIR178
  • PDR001
  • RAD001
  • Everolimus
  • Spartalizumab
  • Taminadenant
  • Von Hippel-Lindau Disease
  • Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer syndrome
  • Paraganglioma
  • Pheochromocytoma
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 100 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Male and female ≥ 18 years of age For Arm 1B: Male and female of age ≥ 12 years of age
  2. Histologically confirmed and documented clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Disease must be measurable as determined by RECIST v1.1.

    For Arm 1B: histologically confirmed and documented malignancies in the context of the following cancer predisposing syndromes/disorders or harboring somatic mutations on one of these genes:

    • Malignancies with VHL mutations (e.g. Von Hippel-Lindau disease)
    • Malignancies with FH mutations (e.g. Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma)
    • Malignancies with mutations in SDHD, SDHAF2, SDHC, SDHB, SDHA (e.g. Hereditary paraganglioma and pheochromocytoma syndrome)
    • Malignancies with EPAS1/HIF2A mutations
    • Malignancies with ELOC/TCEB1 mutations Note: Mutations must have been previously identified through local molecular assays.
  3. Patient with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic ccRCC with documented disease progression following all standard of care therapy, including PD-1/L1 checkpoint inhibitor and a VEGF targeted therapy as monotherapy or in combination.

    Escalation: No restriction on the number of prior treatments Expansion (with the exception of Arm 1B): Up to 3 prior lines of treatment for advanced/metastatic disease For Arm 1B: Patients must have either metastatic disease or locally advanced disease that is unresectable or that patients be unfit for resection or other treatment modalities. Patients must have received prior standard therapy appropriate for their tumor type and stage of disease, and have no available therapies of proven clinical benefit; or in the opinion of the investigator, would be unlikely to tolerate or derive clinically meaningful benefit from appropriate standard of care therapy.

  4. For patients age ≥ 16 years: ECOG performance status ≤ 1 For patients age ≥ 12 and \< 16 years: Lansky performance status ≥ 70

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. History of seizure disorder \& extrapyramidal (EPS) symptoms
  2. Impaired cardiac function or clinically significant cardiac disease, including any of the following:

    • Clinically significant and/or uncontrolled heart disease such as congestive heart failure requiring treatment (NYHA Grade ≥ 2), uncontrolled hypertension
    • Patients with corrected QT using the Fridericia's correction (QTcF) > 470 msec for all patients on screening ECG or congenital long QT syndrome Acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina \< 3 months prior to study entry
    • History of stroke or transient ischemic event requiring medical therapy
    • Concomitant clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias, e.g. sustained ventricular tachycardia, and clinically significant second or third degree AV block without a pacemaker
  3. Treatment with any of the following anti-cancer therapies prior to the first dose of study treatment within the stated timeframes:

    1. ≤ 4 weeks for radiation therapy or limited field radiation for palliation within ≤ 2 weeks prior to the first dose of study treatment.
    2. ≤ 4 weeks or ≤ 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) for chemotherapy or biological therapy (including monoclonal antibodies) or continuous or intermittent small molecule therapeutics or any other investigational agent.
    3. ≤ 6 weeks for cytotoxic agents with major delayed toxicities, such as nitrosourea and mitomycin C.
    4. ≤ 4 weeks for immuno-oncologic therapy, such as CTLA-4, PD-1, or PD-L1 antagonists.
    5. Patients who have undergone major surgery ≤ 4 weeks prior to first dose of study treatment or who have not recovered for the surgical procedure.
  4. Patient previously treated with a HIF2α inhibitor.
  5. Uncontrolled concurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing active infection, uncontrolled hypertension, active peptic ulcer disease or gastritis, active bleeding diatheses, including any Patient known to have evidence of acute or chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficency virus (HIV), or a psychiatric illness/social situation that in the investigator's opinion would limit compliance with study requirements or compromise the ability of the patient to give written informed consent. Patients with chronic HBV or HCV disease that is controlled under antiviral therapy are allowed in the expansion parts but not in the escalation parts.
  6. Use of any live vaccines against infectious diseases within 4 weeks of initiation of study treatment.
  7. Presence of Grade ≥ 2 toxicity according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAEv5.0), from prior cancer therapy with the exception of neuropathy (inclusion of patients with neuropathy of Grade 2 or less is permitted), ototoxicity, and alopecia.
  8. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

04

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Arm 1 Dose Escalation DFF332

    DFF332 Single Agent

    Drug: DFF332

  • Experimental
    Arm 2 Dose Escalation DFF332 + Everolimus

    Combination treatment DFF332 + Everolimus. This arm did not open.

    Drug: DFF332 · Drug: RAD001

  • Experimental
    Arm 3 Dose Escalation DFF332 + Spartalizumab + Taminadenant

    Combination treatment DFF332 + Spartalizumab + Taminadenant. This arm did not open.

    Drug: DFF332 · Drug: PDR001 · Drug: NIR178

  • Experimental
    Arm 1a Dose Expansion DFF332 in ccRCC

    DFF332 Single Agent in patients with ccRCC (age 18 years old and above). This arm did not open.

    Drug: DFF332

  • Experimental
    Arm 1b Dose Expansion DFF332 in HIF stabilizing malignancies

    DFF332 Single Agent in patients with HIF stabilizing malignancies (age 12 years old and above). This arm did not open.

    Drug: DFF332

  • Experimental
    Arm 2a Dose Expansion DFF332 + Everolimus in ccRCC

    Combination treatment DFF332 + Everolimus in patients with ccRCC (age 18 years old and above). This arm did not open.

    Drug: DFF332 · Drug: RAD001

  • Experimental
    Arm 3a Dose Expansion DFF332 + Spartalizumab + Taminadenant in ccRCC

    Combination treatment DFF332 + Spartalizumab + Taminadenant in patients with ccRCC (age 18 years old and above). This arm did not open.

    Drug: DFF332 · Drug: PDR001 · Drug: NIR178

Interventions

  • DrugDFF332

    Hif2alpha inhibitor

  • DrugRAD001

    mTOR inhibitor

    Also known as: Everolimus

  • DrugPDR001

    anti-PD-1

    Also known as: Spartalizumab

  • DrugNIR178

    Adenosine A2A antagonist receptor

    Also known as: Taminadenant

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence and severity of adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs)

    Number of participants with AEs/SAEs to characterize the safety and tolerability of DFF332 as a single agent, in combination with Everolimus (RAD001), and in combination with Spartalizumab (PDR001) plus Taminadenant (NIR178) in patients with advanced clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) and advanced malignancies with Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF) stabilizing mutations

    Time frame: 3 years

  2. Number of participants with dose interruptions and dose reductions

    Number of participants with dose interruptions and dose reductions to characterize the tolerability of DFF332 as a single agent, in combination with Everolimus (RAD001), and in combination with Spartalizumab (PDR001) plus Taminadenant (NIR178) in patients with advanced ccRCC and advanced malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations.

    Time frame: 3 years

  3. Dose intensity for DFF332 for dose escalation and expansion

    Dose intensity will be computed as the ratio of actual cumulative dose received and actual duration of exposure

    Time frame: 3 years

  4. Incidence of Dose Limiting Toxicities (DLTs) in Cycle 1 (28 days) for DFF332 as a single agent and in combinations

    Number of participants with DLTs

    Time frame: 28 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Overall Response Rate (ORR)

    To assess the anti-tumor activity of DFF332 as single agent and combination in patients with advanced ccRCC and with advanced malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations based on RECIST v1.1

    Time frame: 3 years

  2. Best Overall Response (BOR)

    To assess the anti-tumor activity of DFF332 as single agent and combination in patients with advanced ccRCC and with advanced malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations based on RECIST v1.1

    Time frame: 3 years

  3. Progression Free Survival (PFS) for Recommended Dose (RD) only

    To assess the anti-tumor activity of DFF332 as single agent and combination in patients with advanced ccRCC and with advanced malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations based on RECIST v1.1

    Time frame: 3 years

  4. Duration of Response (DOR) for Recommended Dose (RD) Only

    To assess the anti-tumor activity of DFF332 as single agent and combination in patients with advanced ccRCC and with advanced malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations based on RECIST v1.1

    Time frame: 3 years

  5. Disease Control Rate (DCR)

    To assess the anti-tumor activity of DFF332 as single agent and combination in patients with advanced ccRCC and with advanced malignancies with HIF stabilizing mutations based on RECIST v1.1

    Time frame: 3 years

  6. Maximum Concentration (Cmax) of DFF332 single agent and combination

    PK parameters will be based on plasma concentration of DFF332 and Taminadenant, whole blood concentration of Everolimus, serum concentration of Spartalizumab

    Time frame: 3 years

  7. Area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of DFF332 single agent and combination

    PK parameters will be based on plasma concentration of DFF332 single agent and in combination.

    Time frame: 3 years

06

Study locations

11 sites
  • City of Hope National Medical
    Duarte, California 91010, United States
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
  • WA Uni School Of Med
    St Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
  • Memorial Sloane Ketterin Cancer Ctr
    New York, New York 10065, United States
  • Uni Of TX MD Anderson Cancer Cntr
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • Novartis Investigative Site
    Brno, 656 53, Czechia
  • Novartis Investigative Site
    Villejuif, 94800, France
  • Novartis Investigative Site
    Milan, MI 20133, Italy
  • Novartis Investigative Site
    Koto Ku, Tokyo 1358550, Japan
  • Novartis Investigative Site
    Singapore, 119228, Singapore
  • Novartis Investigative Site
    Barcelona, 08035, Spain
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04895748
Lead sponsor
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 20, 2021
Start date
Nov 30, 2021
Primary completion
Feb 13, 2026
Completion
Feb 13, 2026
Last update
Mar 3, 2026

Study contacts

Novartis Pharmaceuticals
study director · Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Oversight

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

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