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RecruitingNCT06964269MNKUpdated May 11, 2025

Use of Acthar Gel Single-Dose Pre-Filled SelfJectTM Injector in Patients With Moderate-Severe Keratitis and Autoimmune Disease

A Phase 4 interventional study of Acthar Gel 80 UNT/ML Injectable Solution in Autoimmune Diseases, Dry Eye and Neurotrophic Keratitis, sponsored by Toyos Clinic. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 85 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-05-11.

Sponsored by Toyos Clinic · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Feb 2025; still recruiting 1 year 9 months later.
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Single-site, open label pilot study of 20 autoimmune patients diagnosed with dry eye demonstrating via the proparacaine challenge some peripheral corneal pain component. At least 16 patients will receive and complete 12 weeks of 80 units of Acthar Gel to be injected subcutaneously twice weekly via Acthar Gel single-dose pre-filled SelfJectTM injector (SelfJect) to assess the effects on subjective sensation of ocular pain, conjunctival and corneal staining, in vivo assessments of corneal nerves as measured by confocal imaging, VAS scales of common neuropathic pain symptoms and comfort of SelfJect will be assessed.

Read the detailed description

The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate the on-label use of Acthar Gel with SelfJect for improvement of symptoms in non-infectious keratitis related to systemic autoimmune disease and the improvement of the appearance and function of corneal nerves as visualized by confocal microscopy and demonstrated by Cochet-Bonnet) and to assess the improvement of common neuropathic corneal pain symptoms caused by dysfunctional nerves due to various autoimmune

inflammatory disease. This study will also follow patients for up to 3 years after 12 weeks of administration of Acthar Gel 80 units twice weekly to assess changes from end of treatment to end of study in visual acuity, corneal and conjunctival staining

02

Conditions studied

  • Autoimmune Diseases
  • Dry Eye
  • Neurotrophic Keratitis

Keywords

  • Dry eye
  • Autoimmune
  • Neurotropic Keratitis
03

In context

Autoimmune Diseases

802 studies on the registry are indexed under Autoimmune Diseases; 271 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 40 across 541 interventional studies indexed under Autoimmune Diseases.

Browse Autoimmune Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

Toyos Clinic is the lead sponsor of 12 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

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. Subject can read, understand, sign and .
  2. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form and HIPPA authorization.
  3. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability
  4. for the duration of the study
  5. Male or female aged 18-85 years.
  6. Normal eyelid anatomy
  7. Patients diagnosed with dry eye for at least 6 months prior to enrollment.
  8. Patients with Symptom Bother score at Baseline of 50.6 or greater.
  9. Patients with a diagnosis of any disease.
  10. Patients with one or more corneal neuroma as seen on baseline confocal microscopy.
  11. Patients with partial or total relief of corneal pain with one drop of proparacaine over 15 minutes post-instillation.
  12. No prior use of Acthar Gel SelfJect or otherwise for any indication.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

    1. Have a known or to the product or their components.

      1. Unwilling to participate in study activities or report for study visits. 3. Current pregnancy or lactation per self-report. Patients who are unwilling to use an effective method of while participating in the study and for four weeks after the last dose of study drug is administered.
      1. Use of antihistamines, mast cell stabilizers, or prescription eye drops within 24 hours prior to screening and for the study, unless the dose has been stable for 14 days.
      1. Current use of cenegermin, topical nerve growth factor or rich plasma or use within the past 30 days.
      1. Treatment with another investigational drug or other intervention within 30 days of screening.
      1. Have serious or severe disease or uncontrolled medical condition that in the judgement of the investigator could confound study assessments, limit compliance, or pose safety risks.
      1. Systemic medications known to cause dry eye should not be used including antimuscarinics, antihistamines, vitamin A analogs, antianxiety agents, and others unless stable for at least 30 days.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(7)

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.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. 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.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

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.

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    One study arm of approximately 20 active receiving and completing active, open-label interventions.

    One study arm of approximately 20 active receiving and completing active, open-label interventions.

    Drug: Acthar Gel 80 UNT/ML Injectable Solution

Interventions

  • DrugActhar Gel 80 UNT/ML Injectable Solution

    Study intervention is twice weekly injections of Acthar Gel via single-dose pre-filled SelfJect injector for 12 weeks.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Visual Analog scale for injection comfort

    To assess the severity of injection comfort in the eyes. scale ranges from 0(none) - 100(severe)

    Time frame: 3 years

  2. Visual Analog scale for burning

    To assess the severity of burning in the eyes. scale ranges from 0(none) - 100(severe)

    Time frame: 3 years

  3. Visual Analog scale for Stinging

    To assess the severity of stinging in the eyes. scale ranges from 0(none) - 100(severe)

    Time frame: 3 years

  4. Visual Analog scale for Light sensitivity

    To assess the severity of light sensitivity in the eyes. scale ranges from 0(none) - 100(severe)

    Time frame: 3 years

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Feb 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Feb 2028, 36 months after the start.

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

Registered
Apr 7, 2025
First posted
May 9, 2025
StartActual
Feb 11, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Feb 28, 2028
CompletionEst.
Feb 28, 2028
Last update
May 11, 2025
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 May 11, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06964269
Lead sponsor
Toyos Clinic
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 9, 2025
Start date
Feb 11, 2025
Primary completion
Feb 28, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Feb 28, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
May 11, 2025

Study contacts

Harley cheney Study Coordinator, Study Coordinator
Contact
hcheney@toyosclinic.com
+616153274015
Melissa Toyos, MD, MD
Contact
mtoyos@toyosclinic.com
6153274015

Oversight

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

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