Rituximab Vasculitis Maintenance Study (RITAZAREM)

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01697267
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: October 2, 2012
• Last Update Posted: January 13, 2021
• Sponsor: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Collaborators: Arthritis Research UK; Roche Pharma AG; Genentech, Inc.; University of Pennsylvania
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): David Jayne, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Tracking Information

• First Submitted Date: August 31, 2012
• First Posted Date: October 2, 2012
• Last Update Posted Date: January 13, 2021
• Actual Study Start Date: April 2013
• Actual Primary Completion Date: November 22, 2018 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Current Primary Outcome Measures (submitted: October 1, 2012)

Time to relapse [ Time Frame: Any patients who have not relapsed at up to a maximum of 4 years will be censored. ]

The primary endpoint is the time to disease relapse (either minor or major relapse) from randomisation.

• Original Primary Outcome Measures: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome Measures (submitted: October 1, 2012)

• Remission at 24 and 48 months [ Time Frame: 24 and 48 months ]
  Proportion of patients who maintain remission at 24 and 48 months
• Combined damage assessment score [ Time Frame: Assessed at months 0, 4, 12, 24, 36 ]
  Cumulative accrual of damage as measured by the combined damage assessment score (CDA)
• Health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: Assessed at months 0, 4, 12, 24, 36 ]
  Health-related quality of life as measured using SF-36
• Cumulative GC exposure [ Time Frame: Up to 4 years ]
  Cumulative glucocorticoid (GC) exposure during the trial
• Severe adverse event rate [ Time Frame: Up to 4 years ]
  Severe adverse event (SAE) rate
• Infection rates [ Time Frame: Up to 4 years ]
  Infection (treated with intravenous or oral antibiotics) rates

• Original Secondary Outcome Measures: Same as current
• Current Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures: Not Provided
• Original Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures: Not Provided

Descriptive Information

• Brief Title: Rituximab Vasculitis Maintenance Study
• Official Title: An International, Open Label, Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing Rituximab With Azathioprine as Maintenance Therapy in Relapsing ANCA-associated Vasculitis

Brief Summary

Rituximab is now established as an effective drug for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis following major European and US trials reported in 2010. After a time, its effect wears off and the disease can return. This occurs in at least half of patients within 2 years of receiving Rituximab. A preliminary study in Cambridge has suggested that repeating rituximab every six months stops the disease returning and is safe.

The RITAZAREM trial will find out whether repeating rituximab stops vasculitis returning and whether it works better than the older treatments, azathioprine or methotrexate. It will also tell us how long patients remain well after the repeated rituximab treatments are stopped, and if repeated rituximab is safe. We should also learn useful information about the effects of rituximab on quality of life and economic measures. The trial results will help decide the best treatment for future patients who have their vasculitis initially treated with rituximab.

RITAZAREM aims to recruit patients with established ANCA vasculitis whose disease has come back 'relapsing vasculitis'. All patients will be treated with rituximab and steroids and we anticipate that most will respond well. If their disease is under reasonable control after four months, further treatment with either rituximab (a single dose ever four months for two years) or azathioprine tablets will be chosen randomly. The patients in the rituximab and azathioprine groups will then be compared. Patients will be in the trial for four years.

The study has been designed by members of the European Vasculitis Study group (EUVAS) and the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC). It will include 190 participants from 30 hospitals in Europe, the USA, Australia and Mexico.

RITAZAREM is being funded by Arthritis Research UK, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and by Roche/Genentech.

Detailed Description

Patients will be recruited at the time of relapse. All will receive rituximab 375 mg/m2/week x 4 and glucocorticoids.

Those patients that achieve disease control (BVAS/WG ≤ 1 and daily prednisone dose ≤ 10 mg) by month 4 will be randomised to the rituximab or control remission maintenance groups.

Treatment is protocolised for the entire duration of the study, until the common close date, when the final patient recruited has completed 36 months within the study or until the patient has completed 48 months on study whichever the sooner. Patients in the rituximab arm will receive treatment until month 20, and those in the azathioprine arm until month 27.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Phase: Phase 3
• Study Design: Allocation: Randomized; Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment; Masking: None (Open Label); Primary Purpose: Treatment

Condition

• Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis
• Microscopic Polyangiitis
• Wegener Granulomatosis

Intervention

• Biological: Rituximab
  Rituximab IV infusion 1000 mg x 1 dose at months 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 and glucocorticoids. Four - six hour infusion. Treatment with rituximab will cease at month 20.
  Other Names:

  • Rituxan
  • MabThera
• Drug: Azathioprine

  Oral dosage form. Target dose is 2mg/kg; maximum daily dose is 200mg. This should be continued until month 24. The dose should then by reduced by 50% and azathioprine completely withdrawn at month 27.

  The dose should be rounded down to the nearest 25mg. The dose may vary on alternate days e.g. 100mg one day, 150mg the next for patients on an overall dose of 125mg daily.

  If patients are aged over 60 years, reduce the dose by 25%. If patients are aged over 75 years, reduce the dose by 50%.

  Other Name: Imuran

Study Arms

• Experimental: Rituximab Maintenance
  Rituximab maintenance: 1g at 4, 8, 12, 16 & 20 months with standardised steroid taper
  Intervention: Biological: Rituximab
• Active Comparator: Azathioprine Maintenance
  Azathioprine Maintenance: 2mg/kg/day with standardised steroid taper, from month 4 (randomisation) (200 mg maximum daily dose). Azathioprine withdrawn at month 27.
  Intervention: Drug: Azathioprine

Publications *

• Watts RA, Suppiah R, Merkel PA, Luqmani R. Systemic vasculitis--is it time to reclassify? Rheumatology (Oxford). 2011 Apr;50(4):643-5. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keq229. Epub 2010 Jul 20.
• Falk RJ, Jennette JC. ANCA disease: where is this field heading? J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 May;21(5):745-52. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2009121238. Epub 2010 Apr 15. Review.
• Watts RA, Scott DG. Epidemiology of the vasculitides. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2003 Jan;15(1):11-6. Review.
• Booth AD, Almond MK, Burns A, Ellis P, Gaskin G, Neild GH, Plaisance M, Pusey CD, Jayne DR; Pan-Thames Renal Research Group. Outcome of ANCA-associated renal vasculitis: a 5-year retrospective study. Am J Kidney Dis. 2003 Apr;41(4):776-84. Review.
• Jayne D, Rasmussen N, Andrassy K, Bacon P, Tervaert JW, Dadoniené J, Ekstrand A, Gaskin G, Gregorini G, de Groot K, Gross W, Hagen EC, Mirapeix E, Pettersson E, Siegert C, Sinico A, Tesar V, Westman K, Pusey C; European Vasculitis Study Group. A randomized trial of maintenance therapy for vasculitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies. N Engl J Med. 2003 Jul 3;349(1):36-44.
• de Groot K, Harper L, Jayne DR, Flores Suarez LF, Gregorini G, Gross WL, Luqmani R, Pusey CD, Rasmussen N, Sinico RA, Tesar V, Vanhille P, Westman K, Savage CO; EUVAS (European Vasculitis Study Group). Pulse versus daily oral cyclophosphamide for induction of remission in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2009 May 19;150(10):670-80.
• De Groot K, Rasmussen N, Bacon PA, Tervaert JW, Feighery C, Gregorini G, Gross WL, Luqmani R, Jayne DR. Randomized trial of cyclophosphamide versus methotrexate for induction of remission in early systemic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Aug;52(8):2461-9.
• Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial (WGET) Research Group. Etanercept plus standard therapy for Wegener's granulomatosis. N Engl J Med. 2005 Jan 27;352(4):351-61.
• Seo P, Min YI, Holbrook JT, Hoffman GS, Merkel PA, Spiera R, Davis JC, Ytterberg SR, St Clair EW, McCune WJ, Specks U, Allen NB, Luqmani RA, Stone JH; WGET Research Group. Damage caused by Wegener's granulomatosis and its treatment: prospective data from the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial (WGET). Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Jul;52(7):2168-78.
• Reff ME, Carner K, Chambers KS, Chinn PC, Leonard JE, Raab R, Newman RA, Hanna N, Anderson DR. Depletion of B cells in vivo by a chimeric mouse human monoclonal antibody to CD20. Blood. 1994 Jan 15;83(2):435-45.
• Jones RB, Tervaert JW, Hauser T, Luqmani R, Morgan MD, Peh CA, Savage CO, Segelmark M, Tesar V, van Paassen P, Walsh D, Walsh M, Westman K, Jayne DR; European Vasculitis Study Group. Rituximab versus cyclophosphamide in ANCA-associated renal vasculitis. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jul 15;363(3):211-20. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0909169.
• Stone JH, Merkel PA, Spiera R, Seo P, Langford CA, Hoffman GS, Kallenberg CG, St Clair EW, Turkiewicz A, Tchao NK, Webber L, Ding L, Sejismundo LP, Mieras K, Weitzenkamp D, Ikle D, Seyfert-Margolis V, Mueller M, Brunetta P, Allen NB, Fervenza FC, Geetha D, Keogh KA, Kissin EY, Monach PA, Peikert T, Stegeman C, Ytterberg SR, Specks U; RAVE-ITN Research Group. Rituximab versus cyclophosphamide for ANCA-associated vasculitis. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jul 15;363(3):221-32. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0909905.
• Jones RB, Ferraro AJ, Chaudhry AN, Brogan P, Salama AD, Smith KG, Savage CO, Jayne DR. A multicenter survey of rituximab therapy for refractory antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Jul;60(7):2156-68. doi: 10.1002/art.24637.
• Gopaluni S, Smith RM, Lewin M, McAlear CA, Mynard K, Jones RB, Specks U, Merkel PA, Jayne DR; RITAZAREM Investigators. Rituximab versus azathioprine as therapy for maintenance of remission for anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis (RITAZAREM): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2017 Mar 7;18(1):112. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-1857-z.

Recruitment Information

• Recruitment Status: Completed
• Actual Enrollment (submitted: February 27, 2020): 188
• Original Estimated Enrollment (submitted: October 1, 2012): 190
• Actual Study Completion Date: November 21, 2019
• Actual Primary Completion Date: November 22, 2018 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. A diagnosis of AAV [granulomatosis with polyangiitis or microscopic polyangiitis], according to the definitions of the Chapel Hill Consensus Conference
2. Current or historical PR3/MPO ANCA positivity by ELISA
3. Disease relapse defined by one major or three minor disease activity items on the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegeners (BVAS/WG), in patients that have previously achieved remission following at least 3 months of induction therapy, with a combination of glucocorticoids and an immunosuppressive agent (cyclophosphamide or methotrexate or rituximab or mycophenolate mofetil)
4. Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Age < 15 years (age < 18 years at centres that do not treat paediatric patients)

2. Exclusions related to medication:

   Previous therapy with:

   1. Any biological B cell depleting agent (such as rituximab or belimumab) within the past 6 months
   2. Alemtuzumab or anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) within the last 12 months
   3. IVIg, infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, abatacept or plasma exchange in past 3 months
   4. Any investigational agent within 28 days of screening, or 5 half lives of the investigational drug (whichever is longer)

3. Exclusions related to general health:

   1. Significant or uncontrolled medical disease not related to AAV, which in the investigators opinion would preclude patient participation
   2. Presence of another multisystem autoimmune disease, including Churg Strauss syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-GBM disease, or cryoglobulinaemic vasculitis,
   3. Any concomitant condition anticipated to likely require greater than 4 weeks per year of oral or systemic glucocorticoid use and which would preclude compliance with the glucocorticoid protocol (e.g. poorly-controlled asthma, COPD, psoriasis, or inflammatory bowel disease).
   4. History of severe allergic or anaphylactic reactions to humanised or murine chimeric monoclonal antibodies
   5. Known infection with HIV (HIV testing will not be a requirement for trial entry); a past or current history of hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus infection.
   6. Ongoing or recent (last 12 months) evidence of active tuberculosis or known active infection (screening for tuberculosis is part of "standard of care" in patients with established AAV) or evidence of untreated latent tuberculosis. Screening for tuberculosis is as per local practice.
   7. History of malignancy within the past five years or any evidence of persistent malignancy, except fully excised basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, or cervical carcinoma in situ which has been treated or excised in a curative procedure.
   8. Pregnancy or inadequate contraception in pre-menopausal women
   9. Breast feeding or lactating

4. Exclusion criteria related to laboratory parameters:

   1. Bone marrow suppression as evidenced by a total white count < 4 x109/l, haemoglobin < 7 gm/dl or platelet count < 100,000/μl
   2. Aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase or amylase > 2.5 times the upper limit of normal, unless attributed to vasculitis

Sex/Gender

• Sexes Eligible for Study: All

• Ages: 15 Years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Contacts: Contact information is only displayed when the study is recruiting subjects
• Listed Location Countries: Australia, Canada, Czechia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
• Removed Location Countries: Czech Republic

Administrative Information

• NCT Number: NCT01697267
• Other Study ID Numbers: RITAZAREM; 2012-001102-14 ( EudraCT Number )
• Has Data Monitoring Committee: Yes
• U.S. FDA-regulated Product: Not Provided

IPD Sharing Statement

• Plan to Share IPD: No

• Responsible Party: David Jayne, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Study Sponsor: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Collaborators

• Arthritis Research UK
• Roche Pharma AG
• Genentech, Inc.
• University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

• Study Chair: David Jayne; Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Study Chair: Peter Merkel; University of Pennsylvania

• PRS Account: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Verification Date: January 2021