Safety and Tolerability of Difelikefalin in Adolescents on Haemodialysis With Moderate-to-Severe Pruritus

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phasePhase 2
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age12-18
SponsorVifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma

About this trial

Rationale:

* People with long term kidney disease who are on haemodialysis (a procedure for removing waste products from the blood) commonly develop a condition that makes their skin very itchy. * Difelikefalin is a medicine that can treat the itching related to long term kidney disease. * Clinical studies have shown difelikefalin to reduce itching in adults on haemodialysis, while being safe and tolerable. * The current study is being done in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years on haemodialysis who have moderate to severe itching related to long term kidney disease to assess if difelikefalin is safe in this age group.

The aims of the study are:

Main aim: To assess the safety of difelikefalin in adolescents who are on haemodialysis and have itching related to long term kidney disease

Secondary aim: To measure the amount of difelikefalin that enters the blood in adolescents who are on haemodialysis and have itching related to long term kidney disease

Study Design At least 18 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, who are on haemodialysis and have itching related to long term kidney disease will take part in this study.

All study participants will receive difelikefalin 3 (or up to 4) times weekly for up to 12 weeks. The study duration for a participant is up to 17 to 18 weeks; during this period, participants will visit the clinic 3 times weekly (during their haemodialysis visits).

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

1. Participant must be ≥12 to <18 years of age at the time of informed consent.

2. Participants with CKD on HD 3 times weekly for at least 12 weeks prior to the informed consent procedure who can continue HD without changing its frequency or method.

a) WI-NRS scores have been recorded for at least 4 days through a 7-day run-in period.

b) The mean value of the recorded WI-NRS scores is >4.0

Disqualifiers

1. Known to be non-compliant with HD treatments and deemed unlikely by the Investigator to complete the study

2. Planned to receive a kidney transplant during the study. Note: being listed on a kidney transplant list is not an exclusion criterion.

3. Participants with itching caused by conditions other than chronic renal failure or complications of chronic renal failure, which could in the opinion of the Investigator affect the efficacy evaluation (e.g., atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria).

4. Participants with localised itch restricted to the palms of the hands.

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Difelikefalin

Treatment groups

18 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment group

Locations

16
China
Sichuan University-West China Second University Hospital610066, Chengdu China
Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center510600, Guangzhou China
The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University510080, Guangzhou China
The Children's Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine310003, Hangzhou China

Sponsors and collaborators

Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma

Lead sponsor