SUZHOU, China, Nov 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TenNor Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company dedicated to developing novel therapies to address unmet needs in infectious diseases, announced today the successful completion of a phase III clinical trial of rifasutenizol (TNP-2198) for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The study met its primary endpoints, showing multiple advantages of rifasutenizol regimen compared with bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (BQT), the current standard of care.
The completed study is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, controlled phase III clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TNP-2198 in combination with amoxicillin and rabeprazole for the treatment of H. pylori infection in treatment-naive patients. The study was conducted in 40 hospitals in China. A total of 700 treatment-naive patients with H. pylori infection confirmed by a positive carbon-13 urea breath test (C-13 UBT) and histological examination were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive rifasutenizol triple therapy (rifasutenizol 400 mg, amoxicillin 1 g and rabeprazole 20 mg) or BQT (bismuth potassium citrate 240 mg, clarithromycin 500 mg, amoxicillin 1 g and rabeprazole 20 mg) treatment, twice a day for 14 days. The efficacy endpoint was the C-13 UBT test result 4 to 6 weeks after the end of treatment.
Patient compliance was high in the study with a low dropout rate of 3%. H. pylori was successfully cultured in 87% patients. There were no significant differences in demographics or baseline antibiotic resistance characteristics between the two treatment groups that could affect the study outcomes. Resistance rates to clarithromycin, metronidazole, levofloxacin and amoxicillin among H. pylori clinical isolates from this study were 41%, 68%, 35% and 8% respectively, which are consistent with data reported recently by other studies, indicating antibiotic resistance to H. pylori is a serious problem in China. All clinical isolates from the study were susceptible to rifasutenizol.
Rifasutenizol triple therapy achieved >90% eradication rate in the modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population, higher than BQT control (92.0% vs. 87.9%, difference 4.1%, non-inferiority test p<0.0001, superiority test p= 0.0338). The rifasutenizol regimen also achieved a higher eradication rate than BQT in the per protocol (PP) population (93.7% vs. 90.3%, difference 3.4%, non-inferiority test p<0.0001, superiority test p=0.0563). In patients infected with H. pylori resistant to any of the current antibiotics, rifasutenizol triple therapy also achieved a higher eradication rate than BQT (90.9% vs. 87.2%, difference 3.7%, non-inferiority test p<0.0001), indicating rifasutenizol regimen is highly effective in patients with antibiotic-resistant H. pylori infections.
Rifasutenizol regimen showed better safety and tolerability profile than BQT. The treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), investigational drug related TEAEs, TEAEs with grade 3 or above are all lower in the rifasutenizol arm. Most TEAEs were Grade 1 and no investigational drug related serious adverse events (SAEs) reported.
Rifasutenizol is a novel multi-targeting drug candidate with a synergistic mechanism of action against anaerobic and microaerophile bacteria. It has potential to become the first new drug developed specifically for H. pylori infection in more than 30 years. Rifasutenizol could play an important role in supporting the large-scale test-and-treatment strategy to prevent gastric cancers in populations with high gastric cancer risk, as the rifasutenizol regimen does not require drug sensitivity test and can be seamlessly integrated with the UBT testing. TenNor completed 7 phase I-III clinical trials in China and has received Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
About TenNor Therapeutics
TenNor Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company specialized in the discovery and development of differentiated new drug products for diseases associated with bacterial infection and metabolism. TenNor possesses a unique multi-targeting drug conjugate technology and a strong new drug development portfolio with global IP protection. Several products are currently in late-stage of clinical development targeting H. pylori infection, medical device infections, hepatic encephalopathy and irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea. The company is committed to address unmet needs in the disease area and provide safe and effective therapies for patients in China and around the world.
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