Cancer drug ixazomib tested as potential MS treatment
NCT ID NCT03783416
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Sep 09, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This phase 1b trial is testing whether ixazomib, a drug already used for multiple myeloma, is safe for people with multiple sclerosis. The study will enroll 72 adults with relapsing-remitting or progressive MS. Participants will receive either ixazomib or a placebo for up to 24 months, and researchers will monitor side effects and look for changes in immune markers in the spinal fluid.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ixazomib (NINLARO)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new way to control multiple sclerosis by targeting the immune cells that drive the disease.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early phase 1b trial with only 72 people, so it is primarily checking safety. It may not show clear benefit, and ixazomib has known side effects from its use in cancer.
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 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 72 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2020
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
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 to 65 years
- 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: \- Each participant must meet all of the following inclusion criteria to be enrolled in the study: 1. Male and female patients 18 to 65 years old at screening 2. Must have a diagnosis of MS, and: * Patients with RRMS must be on DMT * Patients with progressive MS must not be on DMT 3. Participants with RRMS must be on stable DMT (i.e. must not have had a relapse within 1 month prior to the screening visit). Patients on tecfidera, cladribine, ocrelizumab, alemtuzumab, fingolimod or natalizumab must be enrolled with caution, at Chief Investigator's (CI) discretion because of the lymphopenia caused by these drugs and the risk of thrombocytopenia in 1-2 % of people after alemtuzumab 4. OCB positive CSF either from a previous CSF analysis or from the screening CSF analysis 5. Able and willing to give written informed consent and comply with protocol requirements with the understanding that consent may be withdrawn by the patient at any time without prejudice to future medical care. 6. Agree to the use of effective contraception as follows: Female patients must: * Be postmenopausal for at least 1 year before the screening visit (postmenopausal status confirmed by serum Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and oestrogen levels at screening or from a historical sample), OR * Surgically sterile, OR * If they are of childbearing potential, must agree to practice two effective methods of contraception concurrently from the time of signing the informed consent form until 90 days after the last dose of study drug, OR * Agree to practice true abstinence when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the subject. Periodic abstinence e.g. calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, post-ovulation methods and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception Male patients must: * Even if surgically sterilized (post-vasectomy with documentation of azoospermia), agree to practice effective barrier contraception during the entire study treatment period and through to 90 days after the last dose of study drug, OR * Agree to practice true abstinence when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the subject. Periodic abstinence e.g. calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, post-ovulation methods and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception 7. Clinical laboratory values: 1. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1 x 109/L 2. Platelet count ≥ 100 x 109/L 3. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × the upper limit of the normal range (ULN) 4. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and/or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 × ULN. 5. Calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 30 mL/min Exclusion Criteria: * Participants meeting any of the following exclusion criteria are not to be enrolled in the study: 1. EDSS \> 8.5 at screening 2. MS relapse within 1 month prior to screening 3. Female patients who are lactating or have a positive serum pregnancy test at screening 4. Major surgery within 14 days before baseline 5. Any clinically relevant malignancy or infection, as per CI/PI (or delegate) decision, including a possible diagnosis of multiple myeloma: raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and positive urine Bence Jones protein at screening 6. Infection requiring systemic (intravenous) antibiotic therapy or other serious infection within 14 days before study enrolment. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) will be treated prior to baseline and may delay baseline 7. Evidence of current uncontrolled cardiovascular conditions, including uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina, or myocardial infarction within 6 months of screening 8. Systemic treatment, within 14 days before the first dose of ixazomib, with strong Cytochrome P450 Isoform 3A (CYP3A) inducers (rifampin, rifapentine, rifabutin, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital), or use of St. John's Wort 9. History of active hepatitis B or C virus infection, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive or positive Tuberculin (TB) ELISPOT. If there is positive TB ELISPOT and the TB team decides to treat as latent TB, participants can be reassessed for inclusion after treatment 10. Any serious medical or psychiatric illness that could, in the investigator's opinion, potentially interfere with the completion of treatment according to this protocol 11. Known GI disease or GI procedure that could interfere with the oral absorption or tolerance of ixazomib including difficulty swallowing 12. Diagnosed or treated for malignancy within 2 years before study enrolment or previously diagnosed with another malignancy and have any evidence of residual disease. Patients with non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of any type are not excluded if they have undergone complete resection 13. Patient has ≥ Grade 3 peripheral neuropathy, or Grade 2 with pain on clinical examination during the screening period 14. Participation in other clinical trials involving investigational (unlicensed) medicinal products, licensed medicinal products or alternative medicinal therapies, within 30 days of screening and throughout the duration of this trial. Participation in non-interventional, questionnaire or observational studies whilst enrolled in this study is permitted. 15. Patients that have previously been treated with ixazomib or participated in a study with ixazomib whether treated with ixazomib or placebo 16. Known allergy to any of the study medications, their analogues, or excipients in the various formulations of any agent 17. Any pre-existing central nervous system disease or involvement other than MS 18. History of uncontrolled drug or alcohol abuse within 6 months prior to screening.
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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
1 site. 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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Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Foundation Trust
RECRUITINGLondon, Greater London, E1 1BB, United Kingdom
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