ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07872423Updated Oct 13, 2026

Phase III Trial of VDJ001 In Patients With Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease

A Phase 3 interventional study of Recombinant Humanized Anti-Interleukin-6 Receptor Monoclonal Antibody Injection and Placebo in Anti IL-6R and Castleman's Disease, Multicentric, sponsored by Beijing VDJBio Co., LTD.. Recruiting at 8 sites in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-13.

Sponsored by Beijing VDJBio Co., LTD. · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 1 month after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2025, registered Mar 2026).
  • Started Jan 2025; still recruiting 1 year 9 months later.
Updated Oct 13, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
45
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study adopted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled approach with the best supportive treatment design, using recombinant humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor monoclonal antibody injection (VDJ001) to treat idiopathic multicenter Castleman disease (iMCD).

02

Conditions studied

  • Anti IL-6R
  • Castleman's Disease, Multicentric
03

In context

Multi-centric Castleman's Disease

24 studies on the registry are indexed under Multi-centric Castleman's Disease; 6 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 45 is above the median of 34 across 16 interventional studies indexed under Multi-centric Castleman's Disease.

Browse Multi-centric Castleman's Disease studies →

Lead sponsor

Beijing VDJBio Co., LTD. is the lead sponsor of 6 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
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

  • Age ≥18 years, regardless of gender;
  • or central pathological examination confirmed measurable, symptomatic iMCD (diagnosed according to the guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of Castleman disease in China (2025 )), with the patient presenting at least one of the following symptoms: fatigue, anorexia, fever, or weight loss;
  • Clinical laboratory values within 4 weeks prior to the first dose meeting the following criteria:

    • (ANC) ≥1.0×10⁹/L;
    • count (PLT) ≥75×10⁹/L;
    • (ALT) \<2.5×;
    • Total (TBIL) \<2.5×ULN;
    • Serum creatinine (SCr) ≤3.0 mg/dL (265 μmol/L).
  • -PS performance status score of 0, 1, or 2;
  • If are used (e.g., prednisone), the dose should not exceed 1 mg/kg/day (or equivalent dose of other corticosteroids, see appendix), and must have been stable or reduced within 4 weeks prior to the first dose;
  • Patients of (male and female) must agree to use effective during the trial and for 6 months after the last dose; males must not donate sperm and females must not donate oocyte during this period;
  • The patient (or their legal guardian or impartial witness) must sign the form before any study-specific procedures are performed, indicating understanding of the study purpose and required procedures, and voluntary participation in the study.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals positive for or HHV-8;
  • Those with skin lesions as the only ;
  • Patients with concurrent within 5 years prior to screening, except for the following: adequately treated basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, carcinoma in situ of the cervix;
  • Patients with concurrent diseases that may interfere with the study process or results, such as diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, adult-onset Still's disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome), active systemic infection, poorly controlled diabetes, acute diffuse lung disease, active tuberculosis;
  • History of uncontrolled cardiac disease, such as unstable angina, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction within the past 12 months, hemodynamic instability, known (LVEF) \<40%, or rhythm or conduction abnormalities;
  • Patients with any of the following positive test results: -positive with HBV-DNA titer >1000 IU/mL, virus antibody (HCV-Ab), Treponema pallidum antibody (TP-Ab);
  • History of transplantation (except corneal transplantation);
  • History of paraneoplastic pemphigus or bronchiolitis obliterans;
  • Patients with a history of bleeding:

    • Intracranial hemorrhage within 6 months prior to screening;
    • Active bleeding within 2 months prior to screening.
  • History of cerebral infarction within 6 months prior to screening (except lacunar infarction);
  • Patients who have received prohibited treatments or plan to use the following treatments during the study:

    • Prior treatment with IL-6/IL-6R targeted therapy before the first dose;
    • Other concomitant anti-tumor therapies for Castleman disease (e.g., anti-CD20 antibodies, chemotherapy) within 8 weeks prior to the first dose;
    • Biologics such as anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) antibodies within 8 weeks prior to the first dose;
    • Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) within 8 weeks prior to the first dose;
    • (except stable doses of ) within 4 weeks prior to the first dose;
    • Any systemic therapy for Castleman disease within 4 weeks prior to the first dose;
    • Major surgery or radiotherapy within 4 weeks prior to the first dose;
    • Current use or planned use of strong inhibitors/inducers during the study;
  • Known history of severe infusion reactions to monoclonal antibodies or human albumin;
  • Severe psychiatric disorders that may compromise compliance with treatment;
  • Vaccination with live or attenuated within 4 weeks prior to the first dose or planned vaccination during the trial;
  • Pregnant or lactating females, or those planning pregnancy within 6 months after the last dose;
  • Participation in other clinical trials within 1 month prior to the first dose;
  • Any other condition deemed by the investigator as unsuitable for participation in this trial.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(23)

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.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

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.

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.

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.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

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.

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.

Measurable disease

The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.

The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.

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.

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.

LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)

The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.

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.

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.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Allogeneic and autologous transplant

Stem cell (bone marrow) transplants. Allogeneic uses cells from a donor; autologous uses your own cells, collected earlier and given back.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

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.

Live vaccines

Vaccines made with a weakened form of the germ, such as measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), chickenpox and yellow fever. They can be risky when the immune system is weakened. Flu injections are not live; the nasal flu spray is.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
45 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Recombinant Humanized Anti-Interleukin-6 Receptor Monoclonal Antibody Injection

    Drug: Recombinant Humanized Anti-Interleukin-6 Receptor Monoclonal Antibody Injection

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugRecombinant Humanized Anti-Interleukin-6 Receptor Monoclonal Antibody Injection

    VDJ001 is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R). It is produced using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells through DNA recombinant technology. The antibody specifically binds to both soluble and membrane-bound IL-6R (sIL-6R and mIL-6R), thereby inhibiting signal transduction mediated by sIL-6R or mIL-6R.

  • DrugPlacebo

    This is a matching placebo formulation containing no active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The placebo is manufactured to be identical in appearance, color, shape, size, taste, and packaging to the investigational product VDJ001 to maintain the integrity of the double-blind design. It is utilized solely as a control intervention for the purpose of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Proportion of patients achieving a comprehensive response, defined as complete response (CR) or partial response (PR), sustained for at least 18 weeks, based on combined assessment of symptoms, biochemical efficacy, and overall lymph node evaluation.

    Time frame: 30/36 weeks

07

Study locations

1 of 8 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Registered
First appeared on the registry. No changes since
Oct 13, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 13, 2026
    First appeared on the registry

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07872423
Lead sponsor
Beijing VDJBio Co., LTD.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 13, 2026
Start date
Jan 27, 2025
Primary completion
Jun 9, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 13, 2026

Oversight

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

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