Drug combo aims to break anemia cycle in MDS patients

NCT ID NCT04539236

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused This study
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 17, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026

Summary

This study tests whether combining two drugs, luspatercept and lenalidomide, can improve anemia in people with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who lack a specific chromosome change. Participants take lenalidomide daily by mouth and receive luspatercept as a shot under the skin every three weeks. The goal is to find the best dose and see if the combination reduces the need for red blood cell transfusions.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
a combination of the drugs luspatercept and lenalidomide
What this could lead to
If successful, this combination could offer a new treatment option for anemia in lower-risk MDS patients who do not have a specific chromosome abnormality.
What could go wrong
This is an early-phase trial with a small number of participants, so the results may not apply to all patients. The combination may cause side effects or not improve anemia significantly.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 1/2

Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.

Participants

About 50 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Nov 2021

Expected to finish

Aug 2029

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Subject is ≥ 18 years of age the time of signing the informed consent form (ICF). 2. Subject must understand and voluntarily sign an ICF prior to any study-related assessments/procedures being conducted. 3. Documented diagnosis of MDS according to World Health Organization (WHO) / French-American-British (FAB) classification that meets International Prognostic Scoring System Revised (IPSS-R) classification (Greenberg, 2012) of very low, low, or intermediate risk disease; intermediate patients must have a blast percentage \<5% to be enrolled. 4. Subjects can be ESA-naïve, or refractory or intolerant to, or ineligible for, prior ESA treatment, as defined by any one of the following: * Refractory to prior ESA treatment - documentation of non-response or response that is no longer maintained to prior ESA-containing regimen, either as single agent or combination (eg, with G-CSF); ESA regimen must have been either: * recombinant human erythropoietin (rHu EPO) ≥ 40,000 IU/wk for at least 8 doses or equivalent; OR * darbepoetin alpha ≥ 200-500 μg Q1-3W for at least 4 doses or equivalent; * Intolerant to prior ESA treatment - documentation of discontinuation of prior ESAcontaining regimen, either as single agent or combination (eg, with G-CSF), at any time after introduction due to intolerance or an adverse event * ESA ineligible - Low chance of response to ESA based on endogenous serum erythropoietin level \> 200 U/L for subjects not previously treated with ESAs 5. If previously treated with ESAs, agents must have been discontinued ≥ 4 weeks prior to date of C1D1. 6. Requires RBC transfusions, as documented by the following criteria: * average transfusion requirement of ≥ 2 units/8 weeks of packed Red Blood Cells (pRBC)s preceding C1D1. * Hemoglobin levels at the time of or within 7 days prior to administration of a RBC transfusion must have been ≤ 10.0 g/dL for the transfusion to be counted towards meeting eligibility criteria. Red blood cell transfusions administered when Hgb levels were \> 10.0 g/dL and/or RBC transfusions administered for elective surgery will not qualify as a required transfusion for the purpose of meeting eligibility criteria. 7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0, 1, or 2 (Appendix 1) 8. Females of childbearing potential (FCBP), defined as a sexually mature woman who: 1) has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy or 2) has not been naturally postmenopausal (amenorrhea following cancer therapy does not rule out childbearing potential) for at least 24 consecutive months (ie, has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months), must: * Have two negative pregnancy tests (urine or serum) as verified by the Investigator prior to starting study therapy (unless the screening pregnancy test was done within 72 hours of C1D1). She must agree to ongoing pregnancy testing during the course of the study, and after end of study treatment. * If sexually active, agree to use, and be able to comply with, highly effective contraception without interruption, 5 weeks prior to starting investigational product, during the study therapy (including dose interruptions), and for 12 weeks after discontinuation of study therapy. 9. Male subjects must: * Agree to use a condom, defined as a male latex condom or nonlatex condom NOT made out of natural (animal) membrane (for example, polyurethane), during sexual contact with a pregnant female or a female of childbearing potential while participating in the study, during dose interruptions and for at least 12 weeks following investigational product discontinuation, even if he has undergone a successful vasectomy. 10. Subject must have a negative Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) test completed ≤7 days prior to administration of protocol therapy. 11. Subject is willing and able to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Prior therapy with Lenalidomide. 2. Previously treated with either luspatercept (ACE-536) or sotatercept (ACE-011) 3. MDS associated with del 5q cytogenetic abnormality 4. Known clinically significant anemia due to iron, vitamin B12, or folate deficiencies, or autoimmune or hereditary hemolytic anemia, or gastrointestinal bleeding * iron deficiency to be determined by serum ferritin ≤ 15 μg/L and additional testing if clinically indicated (eg, calculated transferrin saturation \[iron/total iron binding capacity ≤ 20%\] or bone marrow aspirate stain for iron). 5. Prior allogeneic stem cell transplant 6. Known history of diagnosis of AML 7. Use of any of the following within 4 weeks prior to C1D1: * anticancer cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent or treatment * other RBC hematopoietic growth factors (eg, Interleukin-3) * investigational drug or device, or approved therapy for investigational use. If the half-life of the previous investigational product is known, use within 5 times the half-life prior to C1D1 or within 5 weeks, whichever is longer is excluded. 8. Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as repeated elevations of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 100 mmHg despite adequate treatment. 9. Prior history of malignancies, other than MDS, unless the subject has been free of the disease (including completion of any active or adjuvant treatment for prior malignancy) for ≥ 1 year. However, subjects with the following history/concurrent conditions involving in situ cancer (or similar) are allowed: * Basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin * Carcinoma in situ of the cervix * Carcinoma in situ of the breast * Incidental histologic finding of prostate cancer (T1a or T1b using the tumor, nodes, metastasis (TNM) clinical staging system) 10. Major surgery within 4 weeks prior to C1D1. Subjects must have completely recovered from any previous surgery prior to C1D1 11. History of stroke, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary or arterial embolism within 6 months prior to C1D1 12. Pregnant or breastfeeding females 13. Subject has any significant medical condition, laboratory abnormality, psychiatric illness, or is considered vulnerable by local regulations (eg, imprisoned or institutionalized) that, in the opinion of the Investigator, would prevent the subject from participating in the study.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

myelodysplastic syndrome Myelodysplastic Syndromes

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    5 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Cleveland Clinic

    Cleveland, Ohio, 44195, United States

  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

  • Johns Hopkins University

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States

  • University of Miami

    Miami, Florida, 33136, United States

  • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

    Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States

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