A Multicentre Open-label, Non-inferiority Adaptive Platform Randomised Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Antimalarials for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Malaria in the First Trimester of Pregnancy: Master Protocol

Status: Recruiting
Location: See all (3) locations...
Intervention Type: Drug
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Phase 3
SUMMARY

The SAFIRE study aims to find effective treatments with acceptable safety for malaria in early pregnancy, a particularly sensitive time for the adverse consequences of malaria in pregnancy for both mother and baby. Currently, WHO recommends the antimalarial drug artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in the first trimester of pregnancy. Other promising treatments are being rolled out in malaria-endemic countries for use in adults and children and data on current exposures in the first trimester are limited and insufficient to support a recommendation. This is due to the fact that pregnant women are often excluded from clinical trials to protect fetuses, unintentionally depriving them of newer, potentially better treatments. Instead, they often received older, less effective drugs. The International Council for Harmonisation (ICH E21) and stringent regulatory authorities (e.g. EMA, FDA and MHRA) now encourage pregnant women to be included in well-designed studies to ensure they can safely benefit from medical advances. This study will compare AL with the newer antimalarial drugs that have shown no significant safety concerns in laboratory studies, accidental use during early pregnancy, or trials in later pregnancy stages. The main goal is to see if these new drugs work as well as AL in treating malaria and are safe for the mother, her pregnancy and the developing baby. The newer antimalarials being tested also offer additional benefits to pregnant women, such as preventing new malaria infections for longer after treatment than the current standard treatment (AL). Also, they can be taken just once a day instead of twice daily, like AL. A simpler dosing schedule could improve adherence to the study medication, meaning women are more likely to take the full course of treatment as prescribed. This, in turn, enhances its effectiveness in real-world settings. Future antimalarials to be tested will include those with improved resistance profiles, offering more effective options for combating drug-resistant strains. SAFIRE uses a special Bayesian Adaptive Platform Trial (APT) design. This open-ended approach allows researchers to add new interventions under the same protocol, leveraging the existing trial network with infrastructure. The use of a common protocol with innovative adaptive statistical design allows the trial to stop early if it becomes clear that the new drugs are unsafe. This multi-centre trial will be conducted in several countries in Africa where malaria is very common. Women will be randomly assigned to receive either AL or one of the new treatments. Participants will be seen daily for 4 days, then weekly for 6 weeks to assess the response to treatment, and then monthly until delivery. Their health and outcomes will be closely monitored during and after pregnancy. Newborns will be followed for 6 months. An independent data safety and monitoring board (DSMB) will regularly monitor safety data as it accumulates. By finding more treatment options, this study could improve care for pregnant women with malaria and lead to better health for mothers and babies in areas where malaria is widespread. The results will help inform global health policies and potentially change how we treat malaria in early pregnancy.

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: Female
Minimum Age: 16
Healthy Volunteers: f
View:

• ≥2 weeks and \<14 weeks (13-6/7 weeks inclusive) gestation from the last menstrual period (LMP) as assessed by echography

• Microscopy confirmed P. falciparum mono or mixed infections, regardless of symptoms.

• Emancipated minor and aged ≥16 years

• Haemoglobin ≥ 7 g/dL

• Residence within the health facility catchment area

• Willingness to adhere to study requirements and to deliver the baby at the local health facility

Locations
Other Locations
Burkina Faso
Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN), Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Direction Régionale de l'Ouest (IRSS-DRO)
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Nanoro
Kenya
KEMRI Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR)
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Kisumu
Mali
Malaria Research and Training Center, University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB),
RECRUITING
Bamako
Contact Information
Primary
Amy Smith
Amy.Smith@lstmed.ac.uk
+44 151 702 9575
Backup
Ravi Lad
ravi.lad@lstmed.ac.uk
+447856407365
Time Frame
Start Date: 2025-09-30
Estimated Completion Date: 2029-08
Participants
Target number of participants: 1510
Treatments
Experimental: Pyronaridine-artesunate (PA)
PA is the latest registered ACT and is currently the only commonly used ACT singled out by WHO not to be used in the first trimester because of the lack of any safety data when the guidelines were reviewed. PA is currently seeing a rapid expansion of its use in Africa.~Thus, PA is likely to be widely used in women of childbearing age in the coming years.
Experimental: Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP)
DP is an ACT widely used for the treatment of malaria and is registered in at least 30 malariaendemic countries, including Kenya, Mali and Burkina Faso. DP is also widely used in areas with multidrug-resistant P. falciparum and P. vivax in Southeast Asia. In Papua, Indonesia, DP was introduced as first-line treatment in 2006 in the general population, including in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy. DP is effective in reducing recurrent malaria and improving pregnancy outcomes in the second and third trimesters, offering significant benefits over quinine-based regimens. WHO includes DP as a recommended ACT for treating malaria in the second and third trimesters but emphasises the need for more safety data in the first trimester. The slower elimination of piperaquine that contributes to the longer duration of post-treatment prophylaxis relative to AL and the simplicity of the three-day treatment regimen (once daily as opposed to twice daily with AL).
Active_comparator: Artemether-lumefantrine
Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) will serve as the first standard of care control arm in this platform trial comparing newer antimalarials. AL is the only drug recommended as first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in the first trimester of pregnancy, as per the World Health Organisation's 2022 updated guidelines. Other artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are only recommended if AL is unavailable.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Collaborators: Malaria Research and Training Center, Mali International Center of Excellence in Research, University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako, Mali, Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN), Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Parasitic Diseases & Malaria, Medicines for Malaria Venture (co-sponsor), KEMRI Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), Kisumu, Kenya
Leads: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov