Impact of Nilotinib on Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics and Biomarkers in Parkinson's Disease

Completed · Phase 2 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Parkinson Disease, Parkinsons Disease With Dementia

In brief

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder causing motor and non-motor symptoms. PD is characterized by death of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) pars compacta and formation of inclusions known as Lewy bodies (LBs) that primarily contain aggregated alpha-Synuclein. Nilotinib (Tasigna®, AMN107, Novartis, Switzerland) is approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is well tolerated for CML treatment at oral doses of 600-800mg daily. Nilotinib penetrates the brain and promotes autophagic degradation of alpha-Synuclein and p-Tau, leading to survival of DA neurons and improvement of motor function in PD models. For these studies, Nilotinib (1-10mg/kg daily) was used at significantly less than the clinically approved dose (up to 1200mg daily) in CML.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT02954978
Run by: Georgetown University
People needed: 75
Starts: 2017-01-01
Expected to finish: 2020-07-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-06-12

Who can join

Age: 40 and older, up to 90. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Written informed consent
Capable of providing informed consent and complying with study procedures. Subjects who are unable to provide consent may use a Legally Authorized Representative (LAR).
Patients between the age of 40-90 years, medically stable
Diagnosis of PD according to the UK Brain Bank Diagnostic Criteria
PD subjects with MoCA ≥ 22
2.5 ≥Hoehn and Yahr stage ≤3
No mono-amine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitors (Selegeline or rasagiline) are allowed at least 6 weeks before enrollment
Must be medically stable on 800mg Levodopa daily for at least 4 weeks
QTc interval 350-460 ms, inclusive
Participants must be willing to undergo LP at baseline and 12 months after treatment

You may not qualify if…

Patients with hypokalemia, hypomagnesaemia, or long QT syndrome- QTc≥461 ms
Concomitant drugs known to prolong the QTc interval and history of any cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infraction or cardiac failure, angina, arrhythmia
History or presence of cardiac conditions including:
Cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event (e.g. myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or stroke)
Congestive heart failure
First, second- or third-degree atrioventricular block, sick sinus syndrome, or other serious cardiac rhythm disturbances
Any history of Torsade de Pointes
Treatment with any of the following drugs at the time of screening or the preceding 30 days, and/or planned use over the course of the trial:
Treatment with Class IA or III antiarrhythmic drugs (e.g. quinidine)
Treatment with QT prolonging drugs (www.crediblemeds.org)- excluding Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) (e.g. Citalopram, Paxil, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Sertraline, etc...)
Strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (including grapefruit juice). The concomitant use of strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g., ketoconazole, itraconazole, clarithromycin, atazanavir, indinavir, nefazodone, nelfinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, telithromycin, voriconazole) must be avoided. Grapefruit products may also increase serum concentrations of Nilotinib. Should treatment with any of these agents be required, therapy with Nilotinib should be interrupted.
Anticoagulants, including Coumadin (warfarin), heparin, enoxaparin, daltiparin, xarelto, etc.
St. John's Wort and the concomitant use of strong other CYP3A4 inducers (e.g., dexamethasone, phenytoin, carbamazepine, rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine, phenobarbital) must be avoided since these agents may reduce the concentration of Nilotinib.
Abnormal liver function defined as AST and/or ALT > 100% the upper limit of the normal
Renal insufficiency as defined by a serum creatinine > 1.5 times the upper limit of normal
History of HIV, clinically significant chronic hepatitis, or other active infection
Females must not be lactating, pregnant or with possible pregnancy
Medical history of liver or pancreatic disease
Clinical signs indicating syndromes other than idiopathic PD, including corticobasal degeneration, supranuclear gaze palsy, multiple system atrophy, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, signs of frontal dementia, history of stroke, head injury or encephalitis, cerebellar signs, early severe autonomic involvement, Babinski sign
Current evidence or history in past two years of epilepsy, focal brain lesion, head injury with loss of consciousness or DSM-IV criteria for any major psychiatric disorder including psychosis, major depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol or substance abuse
Evidence of any significant clinical disorder or laboratory finding that renders the participant unsuitable for receiving an investigational drug including clinically significant or unstable hematologic, hepatic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, metabolic, renal or other systemic disease or laboratory abnormality
Active neoplastic disease, history of cancer five years prior to screening, including breast cancer (history of skin melanoma or stable prostate cancer are not exclusionary)
Contraindications to LP: prior lumbosacral spine surgery, severe degenerative joint disease or deformity of the spine, platelets < 100,000, use of Coumadin/warfarin, or history of a bleeding disorder
Must not be on any immunosuppressant medications (e.g. IVig)
Must not be enrolled as an active participant in another clinical study

Where it is running

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital — Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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