New combo therapy aims to tame chronic GVHD
NCT ID NCT06663722
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether combining a drug called axatilimab with a blood-filtering procedure (ECP) can help people with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), a complication after a stem cell transplant. About 49 participants who have tried at least two prior treatments will receive the combination. The goal is to see if the disease gets better or goes away.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Axatilimab (a drug given by IV) and Extracorporeal Photopheresis (a procedure that treats blood outside the body)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this combination could offer a new treatment option for people with chronic graft-versus-host disease that hasn't responded to other therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial (Phase 2) with only 49 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. Side effects from the drug or procedure are possible, and the combination may not work better than existing treatments.
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 49 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2025
- Expected to finish
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May 2030
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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12 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: 1. Recipient of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). 2. Age greater or equal to 12. 3. Chronic GVHD per 2014 National Institutes of Health Consensus Criteria (NCC) (Jagasia et al. 2015) or overlap syndrome requiring new therapy in patients with at least 2 prior lines of therapy, steroid refractoriness, or steroid dependence: 1. Prior systemic lines of therapy may include corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) or sirolimus, or other systemic immunosuppressive agent such as ruxolitinib, belumosudil, or ibrutinib. GVHD prophylaxis does not count as a prior line of therapy. 2. Steroid refractory is defined as any of the following criteria: * i. Manifestations progress despite the use of ≥ 1 mg/kg/day prednisone for at least 1 week * ii. Manifestations persist without improvement despite treatment with ≥ 0.5 mg/kg/day or 1 mg/kg every other day for at least four weeks. * iii. Recurrence after a CR, or * iv. Progression after a PR. 3. Steroid dependence is defined as inability to control cGVHD symptoms while tapering prednisone below 0.25 mg/kg/day on at least two occasions separated by at least 8 weeks. There must be evidence of clinically active cGVHD. 4. For patients receiving approved or commonly used agents, all GVHD systemic treatments should be discontinued except for corticosteroids and drugs being continued from GVHD prophylaxis at screening. 5. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-3 as assessed at Screening. 6. Platelet count \> 50,000 platelets/μL and absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000 cells/μL as measured at Screening. 7. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN), unless attributed to presumed cGVHD as measured at Screening. 8. Stable dose of corticosteroids for at least 14 days prior to treatment. 9. Sexually mature individuals must use contraception as described in Section 4.12. For individuals less than 18 years of age, sexual maturity will be determined as per treating pediatrician. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnancy or breast-feeding. 2. Active relapse of underlying malignancy. 3. History or the presence of interstitial pneumonitis or drug-related pneumonitis. 4. Active gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. 5. Inability to tolerate volume shifts associated with ECP (e.g., inadequate renal, hepatic, pulmonary and cardiac function (ejection fraction (EF) \< 40%) per Investigator discretion. 6. History of myositis. 7. History of splenectomy. 8. History of pancreatitis. 9. History of other malignancy (within 3 years of Screening) unless treated with curative intent and approved by Principal Investigator (PI). 10. Significant, uncontrolled, or active comorbid conditions or are unable to adhere to the study requirements. 11. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or active hepatitis B (Hep B) or active hepatitis C (Hep C) infection. 12. Prior colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1R) targeted therapies. 13. Prior history of ECP treatment failure or intolerance. 14. Intolerance to methoxsalen, heparin, or citrate products. 15. Patients with aphakia due to risk of increased retinal damage or photosensitive disease (albinism, systemic lupus erythematosus, porphyria). 16. Lack of stable IV access. Acceptable forms include central venous catheter, peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), or peripheral IV line per institutional guidelines. 17. Insurance denial of coverage for the ECP procedure.
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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
3 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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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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University of California, San Francisco
RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94143, United States
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University of Miami
RECRUITINGMiami, Florida, 33136, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Stem cell infusions put to the test against a tough transplant complication
- Can adding rituximab improve remission in chronic GVHD?
- Which drug tames liver Graft-Versus-Host disease better? a trial puts two to the test
- Can a new pill tame the immune System's attack after stem cell transplants?
- Can a new pill outperform standard care for a tough transplant complication?
- Can meditation tame the Long-Term side effects of a stem cell transplant?