Efficacy and Safety of Bezafibrate 400 mg and Bezafibrate 200 mg as Adjunctive Treatments in Patients With Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Non-optimal Biochemical Response to Ursodeoxycholic Acid Therapy

Recruiting now · Phase 3 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: BPC, Non Optimal Response to UDCA

In brief

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a rare chronic, progressive, cholestatic liver disease that leads to cirrhosis and its life-threatening complications if undertreated. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is the standard-of-care therapy for PBC. However, patients with an inadequate biochemical response to UDCA according to the Paris-2 criteria are still at high-risk of poor clinical outcome. In this situation of biochemical resistance to UDCA, bezafibrate 400 mg/d given in association with UDCA has been shown to improve the symptoms, biochemical response (BEZURSO study), histologic features, and possibly long-term clinical outcome. However, it has been shown that even patients with an adequate response to UDCA but persistent elevation in biochemical markers of cholestasis or liver inflammation, including alkaline phosphatases (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), transaminases, or total bilirubin (i.e., non-optimal biochemical response) have still an increased risk of death or liver transplantation in the long term, thus defining the complete normalization of these markers as the new clinically-relevant target for PBC treatment. In parallel to these findings, bezafibrate 400 mg/d as a second-line therapy for PBC could be associated with potentially dose-related, muscle, kidney, or liver toxic effects, and whether bezafibrate 200 mg/d could have a better benefit/risk ratio in this disease-setting remains to be determined. Therefore, our aim is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bezafibrate 400 mg and bezafibrate 200 mg as adjunctive treatments in PBC patients with non-optimal biochemical response to UDCA.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06443606
Run by: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
People needed: 108
Starts: 2025-03-27
Expected to finish: 2029-06-01
Last updated by the study team: 2025-08-27

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Age ≥ 18 and < 80 years
Diagnosis of PBC based on at least 2 of the following criteria (EASL clinical practice guidelines 2017):
Elevated ALP level
Presence of antimitochondrial antibody (immunofluorescence titer ≥ 1:40 or positive antigen-specific test), specific antinuclear immunofluorescence (nuclear dots or perinuclear rims) or positive antigen-specific test for anti-gp210 or anti-Sp100 antibodies
Records of histologic features suggestive of, or compatible with PBC
UDCA therapy for the past 12 months (stable dose ≥ 12 mg/kg/d for ≥ 3 months prior to inclusion).
Non-optimal response to UDCA defined by at least one of the following criteria (ratios of absolute values to ULN rounded to the first decimal digit) observed at least 2 times at ≥ 4 weeks interval in the past 3 months, including at the inclusion visit assessment:
ALP > 1.0 xULN
GGT > 3.0 xULN
ALT or AST > 1.0 xULN
Total and conjugated bilirubin > 1.0 xULN
Women of childbearing potential must use at least one barrier contraceptive during the study and for at least 90 days after the last dose.
Affiliation to a social security system (AME excepted).
Signed informed consent.

You may not qualify if…

Any of the following signs of advanced chronic liver disease:
Total bilirubin > 2.0 xULN
Serum albumin < 32 g/l
Platelet count < 100,000/mm3
INR > 1.3 or prothrombin index < 60%
Child-Pugh score B or C
MELD score ≥ 14
History ≤ 24 months or presence of cirrhotic decompensation
Patients on the waiting list for LT
GFR estimated by CKI-EPI equation < 60 mL/min
CPK > 5.0 xULN
AST or ALT > 3.0 xULN
History of LT
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) overlap syndrome defined by at least 2 of the following 3 criteria including the histologic one:
ALT > 5.0 xULN
IgG > 20 g/l or presence of anti-smooth muscle or anti-SLA antibodies
Histologic features characteristic of, or compatible with AIH
Any other chronic hepatic comorbidities (HCV, HBV, NASH, alcoholic liver disease, hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, α1-antitrypsin deficiency, celiac disease)
Untreated hypo or hyperthyroidism (Hashimoto or Graves autoimmune thyroiditis)
Conditions that may cause non-hepatic increases in ALP (Paget's disease, osteodystrophy, hyperparathyroidism, dysglobulinemia)
Gilbert's syndrome or chronic hemolysis (hyperbilirubinemia with an unconjugated to total bilirubin ratio ≥ 75%)
History of or established or suspected hepatocellular carcinoma
History of malignancy diagnosed or treated within 2 years (recent localized treatment of squamous or non-invasive basal skin cancers is permitted)
Any severe comorbidity that may reduce life expectancy ≤ 2 years
Pregnancy or lactating

Where it is running

Hepatology department - Hospital Saint Antoine — Paris, France (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.