Publications

@article{Gansane2023,

title = {Randomized, open-label, phase 2a study to evaluate the contribution of artefenomel to the clinical and parasiticidal activity of artefenomel plus ferroquine in African patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria},

author = {Adama Gansane and Moussa Lingani and Adoke Yeka and Alain Nahum and Marielle Bouyou-Akotet and Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma and Grace Kaguthi and Catalina Barcel\'{o} and Bart Laurijssens and Cathy Cantalloube and Fiona Macintyre and Elhadj Djeriou and Andreas Jessel and Rapha\"{e}l Bejuit and Helen Demarest and Anne Claire Marrast and Siaka Debe and Halidou Tinto and Afizi Kibuuka and Diolinda Nahum and Denise Patricia Mawili-Mboumba and Rella Zoleko-Manego and Irene Mugenya and Frederick Olewe and Stephan Duparc and Bernhards Ogutu},

url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36597076/},

doi = {10.1186/S12936-022-04420-2},

issn = {1475-2875},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Malaria journal},

volume = {22},

issue = {1},

publisher = {Malar J},

abstract = {Background: The contribution of artefenomel to the clinical and parasiticidal activity of ferroquine and artefenomel in combination in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria was investigated. Methods: This Phase 2a, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study was conducted from 11th September 2018 to 6th November 2019 across seven centres in Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Kenya, and Uganda. Patients aged ≥ 14\textendash69 years with microscopically confirmed infection (≥ 3000 to ≤ 50,000 parasites/µL blood) were randomized 1:1:1:1 to 400 mg ferroquine, or 400 mg ferroquine plus artefenomel 300, 600, or 1000 mg, administered as a single oral dose. The primary efficacy analysis was a logistic regression evaluating the contribution of artefenomel exposure to Day 28 PCR-adjusted adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR). Safety was also evaluated. Results: The randomized population included 140 patients. For the primary analysis in the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic efficacy population (N = 121), the contribution of artefenomel AUC0\textendash∞ to Day 28 PCR-adjusted ACPR was not demonstrated when accounting for ferroquine AUC0\textendashd28, baseline parasitaemia, and other model covariates: odds ratio 1.1 (95% CI 0.98, 1.2; P = 0.245). In the per-protocol population, Day 28 PCR-adjusted ACPR was 80.8% (21/26; 95% CI 60.6, 93.4) with ferroquine alone and 90.3% (28/31; 95% CI 74.2, 98.0), 90.9% (30/33; 95% CI 75.7, 98.1) and 87.1% (27/31; 95% CI 70.2, 96.4) with 300, 600, and 1000 mg artefenomel, respectively. Median time to parasite clearance (Kaplan\textendashMeier) was 56.1 h with ferroquine, more rapid with artefenomel, but similar for all doses (30.0 h). There were no deaths. Adverse events (AEs) of any cause occurred in 51.4% (18/35) of patients with ferroquine 400 mg alone, and 58.3% (21/36), 66.7% (24/36), and 72.7% (24/33) with 300, 600, and 1000 mg artefenomel, respectively. All AEs were of mild-to-moderate severity, and consistent with the known profiles of the compounds. Vomiting was the most reported AE. There were no cases of QTcF prolongation ≥ 500 ms or \> 60 ms from baseline. Conclusion: The contribution of artefenomel exposure to the clinical and parasitological activity of ferroquine/artefenomel could not be demonstrated in this study. Parasite clearance was faster with ferroquine/artefenomel versus ferroquine alone. All treatments were well tolerated. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03660839 (7 September, 2018).},

keywords = {Adama Gansane, Aminoquinolines / therapeutic use, Antimalarials* / pharmacology, Bernhards Ogutu, Clinical Trial, doi:10.1186/s12936-022-04420-2, Drug Combinations, Falciparum* / drug therapy, Falciparum* / parasitology, Humans, Malaria, MEDLINE, Moussa Lingani, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, NCBI, NIH, NLM, Phase II, Plasmodium falciparum, PMC9809015, pmid:36597076, PubMed Abstract, Randomized controlled trial, Treatment Outcome},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Ogutu2023,

title = {Ganaplacide (KAF156) plus lumefantrine solid dispersion formulation combination for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria: an open-label, multicentre, parallel-group, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial},

author = {Bernhards Ogutu and Adoke Yeka and Sylvia Kusemererwa and Ricardo Thompson and Halidou Tinto and Andre Offianan Toure and Chirapong Uthaisin and Amar Verma and Afizi Kibuuka and Moussa Lingani and Carlos Louren\c{c}o and Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma and Videlis Nduba and Tiacoh Landry N'Guessan and Gu\'{e}tawend\'{e} Job Wilfried Nassa and Mary Nyantaro and Lucas Otieno Tina and Piyoosh K. Singh and Myriam El Gaaloul and Anne Claire Marrast and Havana Chikoto and Katalin Csermak and Ivan Demin and Dheeraj Mehta and Rashidkhan Pathan and Celine Risterucci and Guoqin Su and Cornelis Winnips and Grace Kaguthi and Bakary Fofana and Martin Peter Grobusch},

url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37327809/},

doi = {10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00209-8},

issn = {1474-4457},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {The Lancet. Infectious diseases},

volume = {23},

issue = {9},

pages = {1051-1061},

publisher = {Lancet Infect Dis},

abstract = {Background: Emergence of drug resistance demands novel antimalarial drugs with new mechanisms of action. We aimed to identify effective and well tolerated doses of ganaplacide plus lumefantrine solid dispersion formulation (SDF) in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Methods: This open-label, multicentre, parallel-group, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial was conducted at 13 research clinics and general hospitals in ten African and Asian countries. Patients had microscopically-confirmed uncomplicated P falciparum malaria (\>1000 and \<150 000 parasites per μL). Part A identified the optimal dose regimens in adults and adolescents (aged ≥12 years) and in part B, the selected doses were assessed in children (≥2 years and \<12 years). In part A, patients were randomly assigned to one of seven groups (once a day ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg for 1, 2, or 3 days; ganaplacide 800 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg as a single dose; once a day ganaplacide 200 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 480 mg for 3 days; once a day ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 480 mg for 3 days; or twice a day artemether plus lumefantrine for 3 days [control]), with stratification by country (2:2:2:2:2:2:1) using randomisation blocks of 13. In part B, patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups (once a day ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg for 1, 2, or 3 days, or twice a day artemether plus lumefantrine for 3 days) with stratification by country and age (2 to \<6 years and 6 to \<12 years; 2:2:2:1) using randomisation blocks of seven. The primary efficacy endpoint was PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response at day 29, analysed in the per protocol set. The null hypothesis was that the response was 80% or lower, rejected when the lower limit of two-sided 95% CI was higher than 80%. This study is registered with EudraCT (2020\textendash003284\textendash25) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03167242). Findings: Between Aug 2, 2017, and May 17, 2021, 1220 patients were screened and of those, 12 were included in the run-in cohort, 337 in part A, and 175 in part B. In part A, 337 adult or adolescent patients were randomly assigned, 326 completed the study, and 305 were included in the per protocol set. The lower limit of the 95% CI for PCR-corrected adequate clinical and parasitological response on day 29 was more than 80% for all treatment regimens in part A (46 of 50 patients [92%, 95% CI 81\textendash98] with 1 day, 47 of 48 [98%, 89\textendash100] with 2 days, and 42 of 43 [98%, 88\textendash100] with 3 days of ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg; 45 of 48 [94%, 83\textendash99] with ganaplacide 800 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg for 1 day; 47 of 47 [100%, 93\textendash100] with ganaplacide 200 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 480 mg for 3 days; 44 of 44 [100%, 92\textendash100] with ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 480 mg for 3 days; and 25 of 25 [100%, 86\textendash100] with artemether plus lumefantrine). In part B, 351 children were screened, 175 randomly assigned (ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg once a day for 1, 2, or 3 days), and 171 completed the study. Only the 3-day regimen met the prespecified primary endpoint in paediatric patients (38 of 40 patients [95%, 95% CI 83\textendash99] vs 21 of 22 [96%, 77\textendash100] with artemether plus lumefantrine). The most common adverse events were headache (in seven [14%] of 51 to 15 [28%] of 54 in the ganaplacide plus lumefantrine-SDF groups and five [19%] of 27 in the artemether plus lumefantrine group) in part A, and malaria (in 12 [27%] of 45 to 23 [44%] of 52 in the ganaplacide plus lumefantrine-SDF groups and 12 [50%] of 24 in the artemether plus lumefantrine group) in part B. No patients died during the study. Interpretation: Ganaplacide plus lumefantrine-SDF was effective and well tolerated in patients, especially adults and adolescents, with uncomplicated P falciparum malaria. Ganaplacide 400 mg plus lumefantrine-SDF 960 mg once daily for 3 days was identified as the optimal treatment regimen for adults, adolescents, and children. This combination is being evaluated further in a phase 2 trial (NCT04546633). Funding: Novartis and Medicines for Malaria Venture.},

keywords = {Adoke Yeka, Adolescent, Adult, Antimalarials*, Artemether / pharmacology, Artemether / therapeutic use, Artemisinins*, Bernhards Ogutu, Child, Clinical Trial, doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00209-8, Drug Combinations, Ethanolamines / pharmacology, Ethanolamines / therapeutic use, Falciparum* / drug therapy, Falciparum* / parasitology, Fluorenes / pharmacology, Fluorenes / therapeutic use, Humans, Lumefantrine / pharmacology, Lumefantrine / therapeutic use, Malaria, Malaria* / drug therapy, Martin Peter Grobusch, MEDLINE, Multicenter Study, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, NCBI, NIH, NLM, Non-U.S. Gov't, Phase II, Plasmodium falciparum, pmid:37327809, PubMed Abstract, Randomized controlled trial, Research Support, Treatment Outcome},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Djimde2023,

title = {Efficacy and safety of pyronaridine-artesunate (PYRAMAX) for the treatment of P. falciparum uncomplicated malaria in African pregnant women (PYRAPREG): study protocol for a phase 3, non-inferiority, randomised open-label clinical trial},

author = {Moussa Djimde and Japhet Kabalu Tshiongo and Hypolite Mavoko Muhindo and Halidou Tinto and Esperanca Sevene and Maminata Traore and Anifa Vala and Salesio MacUacua and Berenger Kabore and Edgard Diniba Dabira and Annette Erhart and Hamadoun Diakite and Mohamed Keita and Mireia Piqueras and Raquel Gonz\'{a}lez and Clara Menendez and Thomas P. C. Dorlo and Issaka Sagara and Petra Mens and Henk Schallig and Umberto D'Alessandro and Kassoum Kayentao},

url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37813539/},

doi = {10.1136/BMJOPEN-2022-065295},

issn = {2044-6055},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {BMJ open},

volume = {13},

issue = {10},

publisher = {BMJ Open},

abstract = {Introduction Malaria infection during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight and infant mortality and should be prevented and treated. Artemisinin-based combination treatments are generally well tolerated, safe and effective; the most used being artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP). Pyronaridine-artesunate (PA) is a new artemisinin-based combination. The main objective of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety of PA versus AL or DP when administered to pregnant women with confirmed Plasmodium falciparum infection in the second or third trimester. The primary hypothesis is the pairwise non-inferiority of PA as compared with either AL or DP. Methods and analysis A phase 3, non-inferiority, randomised, open-label clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of AL, DP and PA in pregnant women with malaria in five sub-Saharan, malaria-endemic countries (Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Mozambique and the Gambia). A total of 1875 pregnant women will be randomised to one of the treatment arms. Women will be actively monitored until Day 63 post-treatment, at delivery and 4-6 weeks after delivery, and infants' health will be checked on their first birthday. The primary endpoint is the PCR-adjusted rate of adequate clinical and parasitological response at Day 42 in the per-protocol population. Ethics and dissemination This protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee for Health Research in Burkina Faso, the National Health Ethics Committee in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology/Faculty of Pharmacy in Mali, the Gambia Government/MRCG Joint Ethics Committee and the National Bioethics Committee for Health in Mozambique. Written informed consent will be obtained from each individual prior to her participation in the study. The results will be published in peer-reviewed open access journals and presented at (inter)national conferences and meetings. Trial registration number PACTR202011812241529.},

keywords = {Antimalarials* / adverse effects, Artemether, Artemether / therapeutic use, Artemisinins* / adverse effects, Clinical Trial Protocol, Clinical Trials, doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065295, Drug Combinations, Falciparum* / drug therapy, Female, Humans, Infant, Japhet Kabalu Tshiongo, Kassoum Kayentao, Lumefantrine Drug Combination / therapeutic use, Malaria, Malaria* / drug therapy, MEDLINE, Moussa Djimde, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, NCBI, NIH, NLM, Non-U.S. Gov't, Phase III as Topic, PMC10565244, pmid:37813539, Pregnancy, Pregnant Women, PubMed Abstract, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Research Support, Sub-Saharan African People, Treatment Outcome},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Datoo2021-dk,

title = {Efficacy of a low-dose candidate malaria vaccine, R21 in  adjuvant Matrix-M, with seasonal administration to children in  Burkina Faso: a randomised controlled trial},

author = {Mehreen S Datoo and Magloire H Natama and Athanase Som\'{e} and Ousmane Traor\'{e} and Toussaint Rouamba and Duncan Bellamy and Prisca Yameogo and Daniel Valia and Moubarak Tegneri and Florence Ouedraogo and Rachidatou Soma and Seydou Sawadogo and Faizatou Sorgho and Karim Derra and Eli Rouamba and Benedict Orindi and Fernando Ramos Lopez and Amy Flaxman and Federica Cappuccini and Reshma Kailath and Sean Elias and Ekta Mukhopadhyay and Andres Noe and Matthew Cairns and Alison Lawrie and Rachel Roberts and Innocent Val\'{e}a and Hermann Sorgho and Nicola Williams and Gregory Glenn and Louis Fries and Jenny Reimer and Katie J Ewer and Umesh Shaligram and Adrian V S Hill and Halidou Tinto},

doi = {10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00943-0},

issn = {1474-547X 0140-6736},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-05-15},

urldate = {2021-05-15},

journal = {Lancet},

volume = {397},

number = {10287},

pages = {1809--1818},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {BACKGROUND: Stalled progress in controlling Plasmodium 

 falciparum malaria highlights the need for an effective and 

 deployable vaccine. RTS,S/AS01, the most effective malaria 

 vaccine candidate to date, demonstrated 56% efficacy over 12 

 months in African children. We therefore assessed a new 

 candidate vaccine for safety and efficacy. METHODS: In this 

 double-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2b trial, the 

 low-dose circumsporozoite protein-based vaccine R21, with two 

 different doses of adjuvant Matrix-M (MM), was given to children 

 aged 5-17 months in Nanoro, Burkina Faso-a highly seasonal 

 malaria transmission setting. Three vaccinations were 

 administered at 4-week intervals before the malaria season, with 

 a fourth dose 1 year later. All vaccines were administered 

 intramuscularly into the thigh. Group 1 received 5 $mu$g R21 

 plus 25 $mu$g MM, group 2 received 5 $mu$g R21 plus 50 $mu$g 

 MM, and group 3, the control group, received rabies 

 vaccinations. Children were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to groups 

 1-3. An independent statistician generated a random allocation 

 list, using block randomisation with variable block sizes, which 

 was used to assign participants. Participants, their families, 

 and the local study team were all masked to group allocation. 

 Only the pharmacists preparing the vaccine were unmasked to 

 group allocation. Vaccine safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy 

 were evaluated over 1 year. The primary objective assessed 

 protective efficacy of R21 plus MM (R21/MM) from 14 days after 

 the third vaccination to 6 months. Primary analyses of vaccine 

 efficacy were based on a modified intention-to-treat population, 

 which included all participants who received three vaccinations, 

 allowing for inclusion of participants who received the wrong 

 vaccine at any timepoint. This trial is registered with 

 ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03896724. FINDINGS: From May 7 to June 

 13, 2019, 498 children aged 5-17 months were screened, and 48 

 were excluded. 450 children were enrolled and received at least 

 one vaccination. 150 children were allocated to group 1, 150 

 children were allocated to group 2, and 150 children were 

 allocated to group 3. The final vaccination of the primary 

 series was administered on Aug 7, 2019. R21/MM had a favourable 

 safety profile and was well tolerated. The majority of adverse 

 events were mild, with the most common event being fever. None 

 of the seven serious adverse events were attributed to the 

 vaccine. At the 6-month primary efficacy analysis, 43 (29%) of 

 146 participants in group 1, 38 (26%) of 146 participants in 

 group 2, and 105 (71%) of 147 participants in group 3 developed 

 clinical malaria. Vaccine efficacy was 74% (95% CI 63-82) in 

 group 1 and 77% (67-84) in group 2 at 6 months. At 1 year, 

 vaccine efficacy remained high, at 77% (67-84) in group 1. 

 Participants vaccinated with R21/MM showed high titres of 

 malaria-specific anti-Asn-Ala-Asn-Pro (NANP) antibodies 28 days 

 after the third vaccination, which were almost doubled with the 

 higher adjuvant dose. Titres waned but were boosted to levels 

 similar to peak titres after the primary series of vaccinations 

 after a fourth dose administered 1 year later. INTERPRETATION: 

 R21/MM appears safe and very immunogenic in African children, 

 and shows promising high-level efficacy. FUNDING: The European 

 \& Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, Wellcome 

 Trust, and National Institute for Health Research Oxford 

 Biomedical Research Centre.},

note = {Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights  reserved.

PMID: 33964223 

PMCID: PMC8121760},

keywords = {Adjuvants, Burkina Faso, Double-Blind Method, Falciparum/prevention \& control, Female, Hepatitis B Surface Antigens, Humans, Immunogenicity, Immunologic/administration \& dosage, Infant, Malaria, Malaria Vaccines/therapeutic use, Malaria/prevention \& control, Male, Nanoparticles/administration \& dosage, Proportional Hazards Models, Protozoan Proteins/immunology, Saponins/administration \& dosage, Treatment Outcome, Vaccine, Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle/therapeutic use},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}