New drug combo aims to tame rare kidney disease
NCT ID NCT06676579
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests whether adding avacopan (a pill that blocks inflammation) to low-dose steroids can help people with crescentic IgA nephropathy, a severe kidney condition. Sixteen adults with high-risk features will be randomly assigned to receive either avacopan plus low-dose steroids or standard high-dose steroids. The main goal is to see if protein in the urine drops significantly after 12 months, which would suggest less kidney damage.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Avacopan (a drug that blocks a protein called C5a receptor, taken as a pill)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new treatment option for people with a severe form of IgA nephropathy, potentially reducing kidney damage and delaying or avoiding dialysis or transplant.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-phase trial with only 16 people, so results may not apply to everyone. The drug may not work better than standard steroids, and side effects are still being studied.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 16 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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 * Age \> 18 years * Kidney biopsy showing crescentic IgA nephropathy within 6 months of enrolment (MEST-C-score =C1/C2). * Quantified creatinine clearance \>20 ml/min/1.73m2 * Quantified Proteinuria \> 750 mg/24h based on a 24h urine collection while on maximum tolerated dose of RAS blockade * Hematuria defined as \>10 RBC/hpf or hemoglobinuria \>1+ * Patients need to be in adequate supportive care (blood pressure \<125/85mmHg, lifestyle advice, and maximum doses tolerable of RAS blockade) at least 4 weeks prior to enrollment * Patients would receive dietary and lifestyle counseling prior enrollment: low protein (0.8-1.0 g/kg/day) diet, low sodium (2 grams/day) intake, indication for smoke cessation, during the 4 weeks run-in period * Has signed an informed consent form prior to any study-related procedures * Patients with documented use of RAS blockade and adequate blood pressure control (\<125/85 mmHg) for ≥4 weeks, can be enrolled in the study and randomized without repeating a 4-week run-in period. Exclusion Criteria * Creatinine clearance \<20 ml/min/1.73 m2 * Liver function tests \> 2x upper limit of normal. (Serious cases of hepatotoxicity have been reported in patients with avacopan during first approval and ADVOCATE study (29) (30) * Severe interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA \> 70% on renal biopsy) * Active cancer or acute non-controlled infection (including HIV, HBV, HCV) * Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding * Immunosuppression treatment: * Rituximab less than 12 months prior to enrollment * MMF, CYC, or immunomodulatory agents within 3 months prior to enrollment * AZA within 3 months prior to enrollment. * Glucocorticoids \>20 mg/day within 1 month prior to enrollment * Secondary IgA nephropathy (associated with gastrointestinal diseases, infection, autoimmune, malignancy, respiratory tract, or skin) * ANCA-associated vasculitis or other vasculitis diagnostic defined by ACR criteria/Chapel Hill Consensus conference * Contraindication to use any of the protocol treatments (glucocorticoids, avacopan) * Use of a strong/moderate CYP3A4 inducer * Initiation of SGLT2 inhibitors is not allowed once patient has been enrolled in the study. Patients who have been on an SGLT2 inhibitor prior to enrollment on the study may continue on this therapy, at the same dose. No dose increase is allowed. * Active, untreated and/or uncontrolled chronic liver disease (chronic active hepatitis B, untreated hepatitis C, uncontrolled autoimmune hepatitis, cirrhosis * Unable to give written consent form * As a safety measure patients who are pregnant or lactating will not be enrolled in the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
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.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Mayo Clinic in Florida
RECRUITINGJacksonville, Florida, 32224, United States
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Mayo Clinic in Rochester
RECRUITINGRochester, Minnesota, 55905, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a daily pill protect kidneys in IgA nephropathy? MRI study puts atrasentan to the test
- Can AI learn to spot kidney disease in biopsy images?
- Can a single injection drug calm the immune attack on kidneys?
- Can engineered immune cells tame autoimmune kidney disease?
- Can an Anti-Inflammatory diet protect the kidneys? a trial puts the autoimmune protocol to the test