Personalized dosing could improve lupus kidney treatment for kids
NCT ID NCT05538208
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study compares two ways of dosing the drug mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for children with lupus nephritis, a kidney disease caused by lupus. One method uses a standard dose based on body size, while the other adjusts the dose based on drug levels in the blood. The goal is to see if personalized dosing leads to better kidney remission after 26 weeks. About 105 children aged 8 to under 21 are being enrolled.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a more effective way to control lupus nephritis in children, potentially reducing kidney damage and improving long-term outcomes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a Phase 2 trial with only 105 participants, so results may not apply to all patients. The personalized dosing approach may not prove superior to standard dosing, and MMF can have side effects like infection risk.
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 105 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jan 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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8 to 20 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 1. Male or female aged 8 to \< 21 years; 2. Must meet Classification Criteria for SLE as per the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/ European League Against Rheumatism 3. Diagnosed with proliferative LN as per the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society4 based on kidney biopsy done within 90 days prior to enrollment into the study; Subjects may have been previously diagnosed with LN. For study inclusion, the kidney biopsy must be interpreted as one of the following classes: Class 3, Class 3/5, Class 4, or Class 4/5. 4. Treatment of LN with twice daily MMF as per the decision of the treating physician. The subject will have taken MMF as prescribed by their treating physician for a minimum of 4 days (or 8 doses). 5. Subject tolerates MMF as per the treating physician's opinion; 6. Able to swallow MMF tablets and capsules; 7. If subject is treated with belimumab, must be IV or SQ; 8. Subjects who are willing and able to comply with scheduled visits, treatment plan, laboratory tests, and other study procedures; 9. Evidence of a personally signed and dated Informed Consent document and Assent document (as appropriate) indicating that the subject and a legally acceptable representative/ parent(s)/legal guardian has been informed of all pertinent aspects of the study. 10. Parent or legal guardian must have a smart phone available and able to support the PLUMM smart phone application. 11. Must be able to complete study questionnaires in English or Spanish. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Perceived or stated inability to adhere to the study protocol; 2. Hypersensitivity to MMF or any component of the drug product; 3. Presence of features (from SLE or other chronic disease) that a-priori suggest that the subject benefits from other therapies than that suggested or allowable by the study protocol; These disease features include but are not limited to severe, progressive, or uncontrolled hepatic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, metabolic, endocrine, pulmonary, cardiac or neurologic disease. 4. History of other kidney disease besides LN or prior to the diagnosis of SLE; 5. Need for renal replacement therapy within 2 weeks from Baseline Subjects can have required short-term renal replacement therapy prior to Baseline, for example due to preceding acute kidney injury. 6. Infections: 1. Untreated latent or active tuberculosis (TB); 2. Chronic infections requiring treatment; 3. A subject known to be infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B; 4. Diagnosis of any infection requiring hospitalization, parenteral antimicrobial therapy or judged to be opportunistic by the investigator within 4 weeks prior to Baseline visit; 5. Any treated infections within 2 weeks of Baseline visit; 6. History of infected joint prosthesis with prosthesis still in situ; 7. Blood dyscrasias, including: 1. Hemoglobin \<8.5 g/dL or Hematocrit \<22%; 2. White Blood Cell count \<2.6 x 109/L; 3. Neutrophil count \<1.2 x 109/L; 4. Platelet count \<100 x 109/L; 5. Lymphocyte count \<0.5 x 109/L. 8. 8\) Estimated glomerular filtration rate \[GFR\] \<40 mL/min/1.73 m2 calculated using the CKiD U25 equation (see Appendix 4); 9. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \>1.5 times the upper limit of normal; 10. Vaccinated or exposed to a live or attenuated vaccine within the 4 weeks prior to Baseline visit; 11. History or current symptoms suggestive of lymphoproliferative disorders (e.g., Epstein Barr Virus \[EBV\] related lymphoproliferative disorder, lymphoma, leukemia, myeloproliferative disorders, or multiple myeloma); 12. Current malignancy or history of any malignancy with the exception of adequate treated or excised basal cell or squamous cell or cervical cancer in situ; 13. Recent (within 4 weeks prior to Baseline visit) significant trauma or major surgery; 14. Herbal supplements with pharmaceutical properties must be discontinued at least 1week prior to Baseline visit, unless there are sufficient data available regarding the duration of an herbal medication's pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects to allow a shorter or longer washout to be specified (e.g., 5 half-lives). 15. Oral or intravenous cyclophosphamide must be discontinued 12 weeks prior to Baseline visit 16. Use of prohibited prescription medication as listed in Appendix 3 within the specified time frame prior to Baseline visit 17. Participation in other studies involving investigational drug(s) within 4 weeks or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer) prior to Baseline visit and/or during study participation; Exposure to investigational biologics should be discussed with the Sponsor. 18. Pregnant female subjects; breastfeeding female subjects; male subjects with partners currently pregnant; male subjects able to father children and female subjects of childbearing potential who are unwilling or unable to use two highly effective methods of contraception or are abstinent for the duration of the study; 19. Other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric condition or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with study participation or investigational product administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the subject inappropriate for entry into this 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
19 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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Akron Children's Hospital
RECRUITINGAkron, Ohio, 44307, United States
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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60614, United States
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Baylor College of Medicine Pediatric Immunology Allergy Rheumatology
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Children's Hospital Colorado
RECRUITINGAurora, Colorado, 80045, United States
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Children's Hospital at Montefiore
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10467, United States
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Children's Wisconsin/Medical College of Wisconsin
RECRUITINGMilwaukee, Wisconsin, 53226, United States
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Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
RECRUITINGCincinnati, Ohio, 45223, United States
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Emory Children's Center
RECRUITINGAtlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
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Hackensack University Medical Center
RECRUITINGHackensack, New Jersey, 07601, United States
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Hospital for Special Surgery
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10021, United States
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Medical University of South Carolina
RECRUITINGCharleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States
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Nationwide Children's Hospital
RECRUITINGColumbus, Ohio, 43205, United States
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Seattle Children's Hospital/University of Washington
RECRUITINGSeattle, Washington, 98105, United States
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University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
RECRUITINGCleveland, Ohio, 44106, United States
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University of California, San Francisco
RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94518, United States
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University of Chicago Medicine- Comer Children's
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
RECRUITINGChapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States
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University of Utah
RECRUITINGSalt Lake City, Utah, 84132, United States
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Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- 5,000-Patient registry aims to map the Long-Term course of lupus nephritis
- Can a blood test catch lupus flares earlier?
- Can a single CAR-T infusion reset the immune system and stop lupus kidney damage?
- Blood markers may foretell kidney trouble in lupus
- Can bone marrow stem cells calm lupus kidney flares?
- Can a targeted antibody boost kidney remission in lupus?