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Not yet recruitingNCT07923747Updated Nov 6, 2026

An Ascending Dose Study of DKB903 in Participants With Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Participants With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

A Phase 1 interventional study of DKB903 in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-06.

Sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals (part of Novartis) · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Nov 6, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
90
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this First-In-Human (FIH), Phase 1, open-label, ascending dose study is to determine safety and tolerability of DKB903, in participants with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and participants with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in order to enable further clinical testing in these populations.

Read the detailed description

This is a two-part, FIH, Phase 1, open-label, uncontrolled, ascending dose study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of DKB903, in participants with RA and participants with SLE.

02

Conditions studied

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Keywords

  • DKB903
  • ascending dose
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
03

In context

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

3,332 studies on the registry are indexed under Arthritis, Rheumatoid; 443 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 90 is close to the median of 96 across 2,220 interventional studies indexed under Arthritis, Rheumatoid.

Browse Arthritis, Rheumatoid studies →

Lead sponsor

Novartis Pharmaceuticals is the lead sponsor of 2,718 studies on the registry; 221 are open to participants now.

Of its 585 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 438 (75%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

Key Inclusion Criteria:

  • Signed must be obtained prior to participation in the study.
  • Able to communicate well with the Investigator, to understand the study and willing to comply with the requirements of the study.
  • Immunization (primary or from vaccinations) against pneumococcus, influenza and COVID-19 at least 2 weeks prior to the first dosing.
  • Male and female individuals, aged 18 to 75 years at screening, diagnosed with RA according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) or 1987 ACR classification at least 12 weeks prior to screening.
  • Male and female individuals, aged 18 to 75 years at screening, diagnosed with SLE according to the 2019 ACR/EULAR criteria at least 12 weeks prior to screening.

Key Exclusion Criteria:

  • Body weight \< 45 kg or > 145 kg and (BMI) \< 16 or > 39.
  • Use of prohibited medication or inadequate wash-out as per protocol.
  • Protocol-defined cardiac conditions or abnormalities or arrhythmia.
  • Clinically significant active, opportunistic, chronic or recurrent infection (including [HIV], [HBV], [HBC], and Tubercolosis [TB]) confirmed by clinical evidence, imaging, or positive laboratory tests (e.g., blood cultures, PCR for DNA/RNA) within one month prior to or during screening.
  • Serious medical illness likely to interfere with participation in this clinical study.
  • Women of (WOCBP), defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant from menarche until becoming , unless they are using highly effective methods of (failure rate \< 1% per year) from the time of enrollment until weeks after last DKB903 administration.

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(10)

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.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

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.

ECG (electrocardiogram)

A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.

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.

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.

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.

Postmenopausal

Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
90 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Part A- Cohort A-DKB903

    Participants will receive DKB903 at escalating dose levels.

    Drug: DKB903

  • Experimental
    Part B- Cohort B-DKB903 dose level identified as safe in Part A

    DKB903 dose level identified as safe in Part A, plus up to two additional full doses.

    Drug: DKB903

Interventions

  • DrugDKB903

    DKB903

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence and severity of Adverse Events (AEs) and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs)

    Number of participants with AEs and SAEs, including changes in vital signs, electrocardiograms (ECGs) and laboratory values qualifying and reported as AEs.

    Time frame: From Day 1 up to approximately 2 years.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Presence/absence of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) at baseline and over time

    To assess the Immunogenicity (IG) of DKB903

    Time frame: Baseline, up to approximately 2 years.

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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
Nov 6, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 6, 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
NCT07923747
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 6, 2026
Start date
Dec 1, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Feb 20, 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Feb 21, 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 6, 2026

Study contacts

Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Contact
novartis.email@novartis.com
1-888-669-6682
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Contact
+41613241111

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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