New hope for rare lung infection: epetraborole trial begins
NCT ID NCT07301320
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a drug called epetraborole for people with a chronic lung infection caused by Mycobacterium abscessus. About 84 adults will take either a low or high dose of the drug or a placebo for 84 days. Researchers will check if symptoms improve and if the infection clears from sputum samples.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- epetraborole
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new treatment for a hard-to-treat lung infection that currently has limited options.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early Phase 2 trial with only 84 people, so results may not apply to everyone. The drug may not work better than placebo, 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
-
Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
-
About 84 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Mar 2026
- Expected to finish
-
May 2028
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 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. Male or female patients who are 18 years of age or older. 2. Willing and able to provide written informed consent. 3. Patients with MABc lung disease, meeting the following (a) Microbiological, (b) Clinical, (c) Radiographic a. Microbiological criteria: i. Documentation of at least 1 Pre-Study MABc-positive respiratory specimen (sputum or deep bronchial specimen) collected per standard of care within 6 months prior to signing the consent form. ii. At least 1 Screening MABc-positive expectorated or induced sputum sample. b. Clinical criteria: At least 2 of the following patient-reported clinical symptoms: i. Chest pain ii. Chronic cough iii. Coughing up blood iv. Fatigue v. Fever (documented by thermometer) vi. Mucus (sputum) production vii. Night sweats (drenching perspiration with no other obvious etiology, e.g. perimenopausal) viii. Poor appetite ix. Shortness of breath x. Weight loss (unintentional, more than 5% of usual weight in 6 to 12 months) c. Radiographic criteria: Non-contrast chest CT scan within 4 months prior to signing the ICF (Pre-Study chest CT) or within the Screening Period (Screening chest CT) with abnormalities consistent with MABc-LD based on local interpretation (e.g. Investigator or local radiologist). 4. Patients who, in the opinion of the investigator, will not require initiation of guideline-directed antibiotic therapy for treatment of MABc-LD within the next 6 months, and for whom a delay, in order for the subject to participate in a placebo-controlled clinical trial, is considered both reasonable and clinically acceptable. 5. Patients who are willing to comply with all the study activities and procedures throughout the duration of the study. 1. Patients must agree to use an effective method of birth control, if applicable, as follows: Females of childbearing potential (FOCPs; defined in Appendix 1, Contraception Requirements) must commit to either sexual abstinence or use of at least 2 medically accepted, effective methods of birth control (defined in Contraception Requirements) from Screening through the EOS Visit 2. Males who are sexually active with a FOCP must agree to use an effective barrier method of contraception (defined in Contraception Requirements) from Screening through the EOS Visit 6. Patients expected to survive with continued antimycobacterial therapy and appropriate supportive care from Screening through the LFU Visit, in the judgment of the Investigator. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with a presence of any suspected or confirmed disease or condition at Screening or the time of randomization that, in the opinion of the Investigator, may confound the assessment of symptom-based clinical response, including, but not limited to, the following: * Radiographic presence of cavitary disease (defined as a patient with one or more cavities \>2 cm internal diameter) * Cystic fibrosis or other inherited disorders of airway ciliary dysfunction (e.g., primary ciliary dyskinesia) * Active allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis * Anticipated or planned lung surgery for treatment of MABc lung disease * Disseminated MABc infection, or other known or suspected non-pulmonary source of infection (e.g., infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, meningitis, or urinary tract infection) requiring non-study antimicrobial therapy * Concomitant pulmonary infection requiring antimicrobial therapy, including infection caused by fungi, viruses, non-MABc mycobacteria (e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium intracellulare, Mycobacterium avium complex, Mycobacterium kansasii), or other bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus). Note: Patients with MABc lung disease and concomitant non-MABc lung infection requiring antimicrobial therapy must complete the antimicrobial treatment for the non-MABc infection prior to randomization. Patients with respiratory specimen cultures that contain growth of non-MABc organisms that are deemed by the Investigator to be respiratory tract colonizers and who do not require or receive specific antimicrobial therapy may remain eligible. The Investigator should discuss such cases with the Study Investigator prior to randomization and provide rationale for study eligibility in the source document. 2. Patients on brensocatib who have not been on a stable dose for at least 12 weeks. 3. Patients with active pulmonary malignancy (primary or metastatic) or any malignancy that required or would require chemotherapy or radiation therapy within 1 year prior to randomization through the LFU Visit. 4. Patients with creatinine clearance (CrCl) of \<30 mL/min, as estimated by the Cockcroft-Gault formula, at Screening: Estimated CrCl (mL/min) = (140 - Age \[years\]) × Actual Body Weight \[kg\] × \[0.85 if Female\]) / (72 × Serum Creatinine \[mg/dL\]). 5. Patients with any of the following hematological findings: 1. Hemoglobin \<11.0 g/dL or \<6.83 mmol/L. 2. Donation of blood or plasma within 28 days prior to randomization; or symptomatic loss of blood or hemorrhage within 28 days prior to randomization. 3. Pre-existing (inborn or acquired) disorder of hematopoiesis that could substantially worsen the effect of EBO on hemoglobin levels or potentially prevent hemoglobin recovery post cessation of treatment, for example, thalassemia, sickle cell disease, hemolytic anemia, Inherited bone marrow failure syndromes, myelodysplastic or myeloproliferative disorders, bone marrow transplantation 6. Patients with severe hemoptysis within 28 days prior to randomization, defined as \>100 mL (approximately \>7 tbsp blood) over any 24-hour period. 7. Patients with severe hepatic impairment, as evidenced by alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \>3 × upper limit of normal (ULN) or total bilirubin \>2 × ULN, or clinical signs of cirrhosis or end-stage hepatic disease (e.g., ascites, hepatic encephalopathy). 8. Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding. 9. Patients with a mean QT interval corrected using Fridericia's formula (QTcF) \>500 msec based 12-lead ECG at Screening. 10. Patients with an immunodeficiency or an immunocompromised condition and risk for an opportunistic pulmonary infection, including: * History of lung transplantation * Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection plus either an active acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining illness in the past 12 months, or a known cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count \<200/mm3 within the past 12 months * Neutropenia at Screening (absolute neutrophil count \<1,000 neutrophils/mm3) * Use of immunosuppressive therapy at Screening that in the opinion of the Investigator may place the patient at risk for an opportunistic pulmonary infection, including transplant rejection medication and chronic systemic corticosteroids defined as ≥15 mg/day of prednisone or systemic equivalent for \>4 weeks. 11. Patients with an anticipated start of new non-study antimycobacterial therapy to be administered at any time between Screening and EOT. 12. Patients who have participated in a clinical trial of an investigational agent within 30 days (or 5 half-lives, whichever is longer) prior to Screening. 13. Patients with any prior exposure to epetraborole. 14. Patients with any condition that, in the opinion of the Investigator, interferes with the ability to safely complete the study or adhere to study requirements, including the patient's inability or unwillingness to comply with all study assessments and visits. 15. Patients with hypersensitivity to any EBO excipient (e.g., microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal silicon dioxide, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, polyvinyl alcohol, titanium dioxide, polyethylene glycol, talc). 16. Patients with a history of eosinophilic interstitial pneumonitis For eligibility purposes, vital signs, clinical laboratory tests, and ECGs may be repeated once if an abnormal result is observed at the initial reading during Screening.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Mycobacterium abscessus complex lung disease are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
Oregon Health & Science University
RECRUITINGPortland, Oregon, 97239, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- New drug candidate takes on stubborn lung infection
- New hope against Drug-Resistant lung infection?
- New drug combo takes on rare, Drug-Resistant lung bug
- Desperate times: phage cocktail takes on Drug-Resistant lung bug
- New antibiotic shows promise against Drug-Resistant lung bug
- Your home water may hide a lung infection risk for cystic fibrosis patients