Darbepoetin Trial to Improve Red Cell Mass and Neuroprotection in Preterm Infants

Summary

Study Hypothesis: Preterm infants administered weekly Darbe during the neonatal period will have improved neurocognitive outcome at 22-26 months compared to placebo

Timeline

Start

2017-09-20

Primary completion

2022-12-23

Completion

2025-05-12

Publications

• Maxwell JR, Ohls RK, An G, Winter D, Beauman S, Buhrman J, Jantzie LL. Development of an electrochemiluminescence assay to measure serum darbepoetin concentration in extremely preterm infants. Bioanalysis. 2025 Dec;17(23):1553-1559. doi: 10.1080/17576180.2025.2600914. Epub 2025 Dec 14.
• Ohls RK, Das A, Tan S, Lowe JR, Schibler K, Beauman SS, Bell EF, Laptook AR, Baserga M, Patel RM, Carlton DP, Flibotte J, Grisby C, Higgins RD, Shankaran S, Watterberg K, Hibbs AM, Carlo WA, Colaizy TT, Van Meurs KP, Kicklighter SD, Moore R, Sollinger C, Chalak LF, Ghavam S, Poindexter BB, Tyson JE, Cotten CM, Baack ML, Fathi O, DeMauro SB, Laughon MM, Reynolds AM, Duncan AF, Winter S, Wilson-Costello DE, Peralta-Carcelen M, Vohr BR, Harmon HM, Hintz SR, Cavanaugh B, Heyne RJ, Merhar S, Mosquera R, Sewell E, Malcolm WF, Richards LA, Benninger KL, Trembath A; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Darbepoetin, Red Cell Mass, and Neuroprotection in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Aug 1;179(8):836-845. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.0807.
• Bahr TM, Tan S, Smith E, Beauman SS, Schibler KR, Grisby CA, Lowe JR, Bell EF, Laptook AR, Shankaran S, Carlton DP, Rau C, Baserga MC, Flibotte J, Zaterka-Baxter K, Walsh MC, Das A, Christensen RD, Ohls RK; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Serum ferritin values in neonates <29 weeks' gestation are highly variable and do not correlate with reticulocyte hemoglobin content. J Perinatol. 2023 Nov;43(11):1368-1373. doi: 10.1038/s41372-023-01751-z. Epub 2023 Aug 18.
• Vu PT, Ohls RK, Mayock DE, German KR, Comstock BA, Heagerty PJ, Juul SE; PENUT Consortium. Transfusions and neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely low gestation neonates enrolled in the PENUT Trial: a randomized clinical trial. Pediatr Res. 2021 Jul;90(1):109-116. doi: 10.1038/s41390-020-01273-w. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Drugs

Indications