A Phase III, Randomized, Double-blind, Multiple Doses, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group Adaptive Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Atropine for the Treatment of Myopia Progression in Children and Adolescents (MODERATO Study)
Myopia, or shortsightedness, is a multifactorial disorder, governed by environmental and genetic factors. Myopia is the most common ocular disorder worldwide with an increasing prevalence over the past few decades and affecting the quality of life and economic health of individuals worsening socio-economic problems. Progressive myopia is nearly exclusively a condition of childhood and adolescence, as in most young adults, myopia has stabilized. Myopia frequently appears in childhood, with a peak incidence occurring between 8 and 10 years of age. The most used topical pharmacological intervention for managing childhood myopia progression is atropine, a non-selective muscarinic antagonist, which has been widely used in clinical trials in concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 1.0%. Atropine is at present the agent with the highest efficacy and optimal safety profile to reduce myopia progression in children and adolescents. MODERATO study, a phase III, prospective, multicentric, randomized, double blind, multiple doses, placebo-controlled parallel-group, adaptive study, aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 0.025% and 0.05% atropine eye drops in children and adolescents aged 3 to under 18 years old over a 24-month period, to understand its ability to manage and stop myopia getting worse. It will be conducted in 11 centers in Italy, Spain, Poland, the UK and Albania.
• Males and females, aged from 3 to less than 18 years.
• Subjects showing myopia with a spherical equivalent refraction of both eyes at least -0.75 D at baseline.
• The intraocular pressure in each eye must be equal or less than 21 mmHg.
• The parents or the legal representative must be informed about the clinical trial and must sign the informed consent form. The exception to consider is related to the individuals aged above 16 years only in the UK, who can provide their own consent according to the local regulations.
• Women with childbearing potential (WOCBP) (after menarche) who have a negative highly sensitive urine dipstick pregnancy test. Additional pregnancy testing during the study will be conducted at visits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
• WOCBP or males who are using a highly effective birth control method to prevent pregnancies. Eligible highly effective contraceptive methods for WOCBP are combined (which contain estrogen and progestogen) hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation (oral, intravaginal (inside of the vagina), transdermal (through the skin)); progestogen-only hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation (oral, injectable, implantable); intrauterine device (small devices that are placed inside uterus to prevent pregnancies); intrauterine hormone-releasing system. Sexual abstinence represents a highly effective contraceptive method, if in line with the subject's normal habits.