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RecruitingNCT07570121AnteCaffUpdated Jun 4, 2026

Pharmacokinetics and Placental Transfer of Caffeine

A Phase 1 interventional study of Caffeine citrate in Preterm Labor With Preterm Delivery, Premature Birth and Apnea of Prematurity, sponsored by Indiana University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-04.

Sponsored by Indiana University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Basic science

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jun 2026; still recruiting 5 months later.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
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Study summary

The goal of this study is to learn how a pregnant person's body processes caffeine and how much caffeine crosses the placenta to the baby. A small dose of caffeine will be given to each pregnant participant before delivery. Blood will be drawn to measure caffeine levels in the pregnant mother. Blood will also be taken from the placenta and from the newborn to measure caffeine levels. This data will be used to form a computer model of the metabolism of caffeine during pregnancy.

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Conditions studied

  • Preterm Labor With Preterm Delivery
  • Premature Birth
  • Apnea of Prematurity
  • Respiratory Distress Syndrome
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Keywords

  • caffeine
  • preterm labor
  • prematurity
  • pharmacokinetics
  • bronchopulmonary dysplasia
  • apnea of prematurity
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In context

Premature Birth

2,550 studies on the registry are indexed under Premature Birth; 500 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 84 across 1,666 interventional studies indexed under Premature Birth.

Browse Premature Birth studies →

Lead sponsor

Indiana University is the lead sponsor of 986 studies on the registry; 198 are open to participants now.

Of its 148 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 118 (80%) have results posted.

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

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
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. Pregnant women with risk of preterm delivery at 23 - 31+6 weeks with singleton gestation who are inpatient without a plan for discharge before delivery.
  2. provided for participation.
  3. Cesarean delivery.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Known major fetal congenital anomalies or genetic disorders.
  2. Plan in place for limited neonatal resuscitation or comfort care only.
  3. Preterm, premature rupture of membranes prior to 22 weeks gestation with concern for pulmonary hypoplasia.
  4. Pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, or other gestational hypertensive disorder.
  5. Fetal arrhythmia.
  6. Seizure disorder.
  7. Oligohydramnios due to renal anomalies or renal impairment.
  8. Current or anticipated use of products that include sodium benzoate.
  9. Maternal age \<18 years.
  10. Maternal medical conditions in which caffeine or other stimulants would be .
  11. High likelihood of receiving terbutaline.
  12. Use of the following medications, which may affect caffeine metabolism: fluvoxamine, ciprofloxacin, methoxsalen, mexiletine, vemurafenib, phenytoin, rifampin, and teriflunomide.
  13. Significant acute or chronic medical, neurologic, or illness in the patient that, in the judgment of the Principal Investigator, could compromise subject safety, limit the ability to complete the study, and/or compromise the objectives of the study.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

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

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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.

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.

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Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Other
    Antenatal Caffeine

    A single dose of caffeine citrate will be given intravenously within approximately 1 hour prior to delivery. Caffeine and metabolite levels will be measured from blood samples drawn pre-dose and post-dose in pregnant participants, from cord blood, and from the neonate.

    Drug: Caffeine citrate

Interventions

  • A single dose of 100 mg of caffeine citrate will be given to each pregnant participant.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pharmacokinetics of caffeine in pregnancy

    Caffeine and primary metabolite concentrations will be determined in maternal plasma samples. Caffeine, paraxanthine, theophylline, and theobromine will be analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS (Sciex 6500) by the Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (IUSCCC)Clinical Pharmacology Analytical Core Laboratory. Pharmacokinetic modeling will be supported by the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Pharmacometric Modeling and Simulation Program. This model will be utilized to predict the maternal dose of caffeine required to achieve therapeutic concentrations in the neonate at the time of delivery.

    Time frame: 3 hours

Secondary outcomes

  1. Placental transfer of caffeine

    Caffeine and primary metabolite concentrations will be determined from cord blood samples. Caffeine, paraxanthine, theophylline, and theobromine will be analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS (Sciex 6500) by the Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (IUSCCC) Clinical Pharmacology Analytical Core Laboratory. Maternal: cord ratios for caffeine and metabolites will be determined for each gestational age range to assess transplacental uptake and compared to predicted maternal: cord ratios determined using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models.

    Time frame: 1 hour

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Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 4, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07570121
Lead sponsor
Indiana University
Collaborators
Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Responsible party
Anna Thomas (Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Indiana University) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 6, 2026
Start date
Jun 1, 2026
Primary completion
Jun 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 4, 2026

Study contacts

Anna E Thomas, MD
Contact
aeschwar@iu.edu
800-248-1199
Anna Thomas, MD
principal investigator · Indiana University, Riley Hospital for Children

Oversight

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

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