Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of BF-200 ALA (Ameluz®) and BF-RhodoLED® in the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Acne Vulgaris With Photodynamic Therapy in Adults

Completed · Phase 2

Conditions studied: Acne Vulgaris

In brief

The aim of this study is to test the safety and efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the medication Ameluz® performed with the PDT-lamp BF-RhodoLED® in comparison to the respective placebo treatment for moderate to severe Acne vulgaris.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05080764

Run by

Biofrontera Inc.

People needed

120

Starts

2021-12-10

Expected to finish

2026-01-07

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-08

Who can join

Age: 16 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Willingness and ability of the subject to provide informed consent and to sign the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) form. A study-specific informed consent and HIPAA form must be obtained in writing prior to starting any study procedures. Minors under 18 years of age must be accompanied by the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) at the time of consent signing. The parent(s) or legal guardian(s) must also provide informed consent/HIPAA for the subject.
• Subjects with moderate to severe acne on the face (IGA ≥3).
• Presence of ≥20 inflammatory and ≥20 non-inflammatory (open and closed comedones) Acne vulgaris lesions on the face (should be located within not more than 2 illumination areas) as assessed by investigator.
• All sexes, ≥16 years of age.
• Willingness and ability to comply with study procedures, particularly willingness to receive up to 3 PDTs within 8 to 10 weeks.
• Subjects with good general health or with clinically stable medical conditions will be permitted to be included in the study.
• Willingness to stop topical facial treatments other than medical cleansers (i.e. face washes etc.) at least 14 days prior to randomization visit (Visit 2, baseline) and discontinue medical cleansers in the face at least 1 week prior to randomization visit (Visit 2, baseline) and thereafter until the end of study (use of soap is allowed but the product used should not be changed during the study).
• Females of reproductive potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test and must use an adequate and highly effective or two effective methods of contraception throughout the study. (If hormonal contraception is used, the same product and dose should be taken for at least 6 months before the first treatment and throughout the entire study.)

You may not qualify if…

• Any known history of hypersensitivity to ALA, porphyrins or excipients of BF-200 ALA.
• History of soy or peanut allergy.
• Subjects with sunburn or other possible confounding skin conditions (e.g. wounds, irritations, bleeding or skin infections) within or in close proximity (< 5 cm distance) to treatment field. (Reassessment of subjects is allowed once if the sunburn or other confounding skin conditions is/are expected to resolve within the screening period.
• Reassessment can be done on the day of the actual treatment.)
• Clinical diagnosis of atopic dermatitis and other cutaneous conditions (e.g. lupus erythematosus), Bowen's disease, BCC, eczema, psoriasis, acne conglobate, acne fulminans, or secondary acne (steroid-induced acne, perioral dermatitis, acne rosacea), squamous cell carcinoma, other malignant or benign tumors in the treatment field.
• Clinically significant (CS) medical conditions making implementation of the protocol or interpretation of the study results difficult or impairing subject's safety such as:
• Presence of photodermatoses or porphyria
• Metastatic tumor or tumor with high probability of metastasis
• Infiltrating skin neoplasia (suspected or known)
• Unstable cardiovascular disease (New York Heart Association class III, IV)
• Unstable hematologic (including Myelodysplastic syndrome), hepatic, renal, neurologic, or endocrine condition
• Unstable collagen-vascular condition
• Unstable gastrointestinal condition
• Immunosuppressive condition
• Presence of clinically significant inherited or acquired coagulation defect
• Beard or other facial hair that might interfere with the study assessments unless subject agrees to be clean-shaven throughout the entire study period. (Reassessment of subjects is allowed once if assessment of acne lesions is impaired by facial hair at screening. Reassessment can be performed on the day of the actual treatment).
• Facial procedures such as dermabrasion, chemical or laser peels as well as exposure to UV radiation (other than sunlight) at least 4 weeks prior to randomization visit (Visit 2, baseline).
• Presence of strong artificial pigmentation (e.g. tattoos) or any other abnormality that may impact lesion assessment or light penetration in the treatment field.
• Suspicion of drug or alcohol abuse.
• Any topical medication of the skin prior to screening as defined below:
• Topical treatment with ALA or ALA-esters (e.g. MAL) or an investigational drug in- and outside the treatment field within 8 weeks prior to screening.
• Topical treatment with immunosuppressive, cytostatic or cytotoxic drugs inside the treatment field within 8 weeks prior to screening.
• Start of a regular and continuous topical administration of medication with hypericin or other drugs with phototoxic or photoallergic potential inside the treatment field within 4 weeks prior to screening. Subjects may, however, be eligible if such medication was regularly applied for more than 4 weeks prior to screening visit without evidence of an actual phototoxic/photoallergic reaction or if such medication is only administered for a limited time (e.g. an antibiotic)
• Any use of the below specified systemic treatments within the designated periods:
• Systemic acne therapy (oral antibiotics within 8 weeks or oral isotretinoin within 6 months or start with hormonal therapy for acne within 6 months prior to Visit 2).

Where it is running

• First OC Dermatology — Fountain Valley, California, United States
• Cosmetic Laser Dermatology — San Diego, California, United States
• Dermatology Associates PA of the Palm Beaches — Delray Beach, Florida, United States
• ForCare Clinical Research — Tampa, Florida, United States
• DelRicht Research — Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
• Skin Search of Rochester, Inc — Rochester, New York, United States
• Clinical Research Center of the Carolinas — Charleston, South Carolina, United States
• DermResearch PA — Austin, Texas, United States
• Austin Institute for Clinical Research Inc. — Pflugerville, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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