Autoantibody Reduction for Acute Exacerbations of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Completed · Phase 2

Conditions studied: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Acute Fatal Form

In brief

Acute exacerbations (AE) are a dreaded manifestation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that presents with rapidly worsening respiratory function over days to weeks. AE account for about 1/2 the deaths in IPF patients, and are refractory to all medical therapies attempted to date. Considerable preliminary data shows pathological B-cell abnormalities and autoantibodies are present in AE-IPF and associated with disease severity. The experimental therapy here (therapeutic plasma exchange plus rituximab plus intravenous immunoglobulin) is mechanistically targeted to ameliorate autoantibody-mediated pulmonary injury. Anecdotal pilot studies indicate these treatments have significant benefit for a disease syndrome that has, until now, been almost invariably inexorable. This clinical trial has the potential to profoundly affect current paradigms and treatment approaches to patients with AE-IPF.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03286556

Run by

University of Alabama at Birmingham

People needed

82

Starts

2018-09-04

Expected to finish

2024-08-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-02-24

Who can join

Age: 40 and older, up to 85. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age between 40-85 years old.
• A diagnosis of IPF that fulfills ATS/ERS Consensus Criteria.1
• Worsening or new development of dyspnea or hypoxemia within the last 30 days.
• Ground-glass abnormality and/or consolidation superimposed on a reticular or honeycomb usual interstitial pneumonitis (UIP) pattern on locally read chest CT scan.
• Ability and willingness to give informed consent (no surrogates) and adhere to study requirements.

You may not qualify if…

• Diagnoses of current infection per clinical or microbial assessments.
• Diagnoses of an additional or alternative etiology for respiratory dysfunction based upon clinical assessment, including congestive heart failure, sepsis, thromboembolism, etc.
• History or serologic evidence of hepatitis B or C infection.
• Coagulopathy, defined as a International Normalized Ratio (INR) >1.6, partial thromboplastin time (PTT) > 2x control, fibrinogen <100 mg/dL, or platelet count <50 thousand (K) unless these abnormalities can be reversed safely.
• Hyperosmolar state or diabetic ketoacidosis to suggest uncontrolled diabetes, or uncontrolled hypertension (systolic BP >160 mm Hg and diastolic BP >100 mm Hg) that would contraindicate use of corticosteroids.
• Hemodynamic instability, defined as an inotrope or vasopressor requirement.
• History of reaction to blood products or murine-derived products or prior rituximab use.
• History of malignancy, excluding basal or squamous cell skin cancer and low-risk prostate cancer, the latter defined as stage T1 or T2a, with prostate specific antigen (PSA) less than 10 ng/dl. The experimental treatments are not known to promote cancer progression, and these criteria are within current guidelines.
• Unwillingness to accept blood product transfusion.
• Diagnosis of major comorbidities expected to interfere with study participation.
• Treatment for >14 days within the preceding month with >20 mg. prednisone (or equivalent) or any treatment during the last month with a cellular immuno-suppressant (e.g., cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, calcineurin inhibitors, mycophenolate, azathioprine, etc.). An exception will be made if the patient has a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) negative for pathogens.
• Current treatment with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor that cannot be discontinued and/or substituted (to obviate hemodynamic complications during TPE).
• Concurrent participation in other experimental trials.
• Fertile females who do not agree to contraception or abstinence, or have a positive pregnancy test (urine or blood). IPF is a disease of older adults, and male predominant, so this will not be a frequent consideration.
• Presence of positive (abnormal) classical autoimmune tests: anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), Anti- Sjögren's-syndrome-related antigen (SSA) , and Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide (CCP). This criterion will eliminate patients with confounding classical autoimmune syndromes. Many IPF patients will have already had these tests, which are standard of practice (SOP) at many IPF centers, and these prior results will suffice if the tests were performed within the last year. Otherwise, these tests need to be performed prior to enrollment and they can usually be procured in 1-2 days. Based on experience, we anticipate \~10% of patients who fulfill all other IPF criteria will nonetheless be positive for one of these classical autoantibody tests.
• IgA deficiency (IgA level <7 mg/dL)- to preclude IVIG reactions.

Where it is running

• University of Alabama at Birmingham — Birmingham, Alabama, United States
• Dan Dilling — Chicago, Illinois, United States
• Thomas Jefferson University Medical Center — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• Temple University Hospital — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
• Baylor University Medical Center — Houston, Texas, United States
• University of Utah Medical Center — Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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