Acthar in Treatment of Refractory Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis

Summary

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the study drug, ACTH Gel in people diagnosed with dermatomyositis a disease that causes muscle weakness and is associated with a rash (DM) or polymyositis (PM) a disease that causes muscle weakness without a rash. The study doctors want to evaluate whether ACTH Gel will improve the symptoms of this disease. This drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM). ACTH gel has been an FDA-approved treatment for myositis since 1952, and in 2010 the FDA retained PM and DM as diseases approved for ACTH gel use.

Timeline

Start

2013-09

Primary completion

2015-09

Completion

2016-05

Publications

• Background Catania A, Gatti S, Colombo G, Lipton JM. Targeting melanocortin receptors as a novel strategy to control inflammation. Pharmacol Rev. 2004 Mar;56(1):1-29. doi: 10.1124/pr.56.1.1.
• Background Catania A, Lonati C, Sordi A, Carlin A, Leonardi P, Gatti S. The melanocortin system in control of inflammation. ScientificWorldJournal. 2010 Sep 14;10:1840-53. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2010.173.
• Background Baram TZ, Mitchell WG, Tournay A, Snead OC, Hanson RA, Horton EJ. High-dose corticotropin (ACTH) versus prednisone for infantile spasms: a prospective, randomized, blinded study. Pediatrics. 1996 Mar;97(3):375-9.
• Background Bomback AS, Tumlin JA, Baranski J, Bourdeau JE, Besarab A, Appel AS, Radhakrishnan J, Appel GB. Treatment of nephrotic syndrome with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) gel. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2011 Mar 14;5:147-53. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S17521.
• Background Simsarian JP, Saunders C, Smith DM. Five-day regimen of intramuscular or subcutaneous self-administered adrenocorticotropic hormone gel for acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis: a prospective, randomized, open-label pilot trial. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2011;5:381-9. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S19331. Epub 2011 Jul 11.
• Background Levine T. Treating refractory dermatomyositis or polymyositis with adrenocorticotropic hormone gel: a retrospective case series. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2012;6:133-9. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S33110. Epub 2012 Jun 11.
• Background Rider LG, Giannini EH, Brunner HI, Ruperto N, James-Newton L, Reed AM, Lachenbruch PA, Miller FW; International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group. International consensus on preliminary definitions of improvement in adult and juvenile myositis. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Jul;50(7):2281-90. doi: 10.1002/art.20349.
• Background Oddis CV, Reed AM, Aggarwal R, Rider LG, Ascherman DP, Levesque MC, Barohn RJ, Feldman BM, Harris-Love MO, Koontz DC, Fertig N, Kelley SS, Pryber SL, Miller FW, Rockette HE; RIM Study Group. Rituximab in the treatment of refractory adult and juvenile dermatomyositis and adult polymyositis: a randomized, placebo-phase trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2013 Feb;65(2):314-24. doi: 10.1002/art.37754.
• Fernandez AP, Gallop J, Polly S, Khanna U. Efficacy and safety of repository corticotropin injection for refractory cutaneous dermatomyositis: a prospective, open-label study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2024 Dec 1;63(12):3370-3379. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead595.
• Aggarwal R, Marder G, Koontz DC, Nandkumar P, Qi Z, Oddis CV. Efficacy and safety of adrenocorticotropic hormone gel in refractory dermatomyositis and polymyositis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018 May;77(5):720-727. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-212047. Epub 2017 Dec 13.

Drugs

Indications