Repurposing Empagliflozin for DMD-associated Cardiomyopathy in Children 6-18 Years of Age

Summary

This study aims at exploring the use of empagliflozin in children and adolescents 6-18 years old with Duchenne muscular distrophy (DMD) - associated cardiomyopathy. This molecule is effective in reducing hospitalizations and mortality in adults with heart failure and is used in adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but little is known on children and adolescents with heart failure. Particularly, the best dose to use in this population is currently unknown. This trial aims to: 1. define a dose rationale for this indication and age group (pharmacokinetic study), 2. assess and monitor safety, 3. assess ease-of-swallow, 4. explore middle-term (3-6 months) efficacy and efficacy markers. Participants will be asked to attend 5 study visits over 6 months, and one end-study visit 2-12 weeks thereafter. Visit 1 will entail an 8h day-hospital stay, while Visits 2, 3, 4 and 5, as well as the end-study visit, will be outpatient clinics (approximately 2h). Participants will be asked to take the studied drug once daily during the 6 months of the study period. No comparison group is foreseen for this study.

Timeline

Start

2025-10-01

Primary completion

2027-03-31

Completion

2027-03-31

Publications

• Background Adorisio R, Mencarelli E, Cantarutti N, Calvieri C, Amato L, Cicenia M, Silvetti M, D'Amico A, Grandinetti M, Drago F, Amodeo A. Duchenne Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Cardiac Management from Prevention to Advanced Cardiovascular Therapies. J Clin Med. 2020 Oct 1;9(10):3186. doi: 10.3390/jcm9103186.
• Background Das BB. Current State of Pediatric Heart Failure. Children (Basel). 2018 Jun 28;5(7):88. doi: 10.3390/children5070088.
• Background Rossano JW, Kim JJ, Decker JA, Price JF, Zafar F, Graves DE, Morales DL, Heinle JS, Bozkurt B, Towbin JA, Denfield SW, Dreyer WJ, Jefferies JL. Prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of heart failure-related hospitalizations in children in the United States: a population-based study. J Card Fail. 2012 Jun;18(6):459-70. doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2012.03.001. Epub 2012 Apr 10.
• Background Andrews RE, Fenton MJ, Dominguez T, Burch M; British Congenital Cardiac Association. Heart failure from heart muscle disease in childhood: a 5-10 year follow-up study in the UK and Ireland. ESC Heart Fail. 2016 Jun;3(2):107-114. doi: 10.1002/ehf2.12082. Epub 2016 Jan 24.
• Background Towbin JA, Lowe AM, Colan SD, Sleeper LA, Orav EJ, Clunie S, Messere J, Cox GF, Lurie PR, Hsu D, Canter C, Wilkinson JD, Lipshultz SE. Incidence, causes, and outcomes of dilated cardiomyopathy in children. JAMA. 2006 Oct 18;296(15):1867-76. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.15.1867.
• Background Packer M, Anker SD, Butler J, Filippatos G, Pocock SJ, Carson P, Januzzi J, Verma S, Tsutsui H, Brueckmann M, Jamal W, Kimura K, Schnee J, Zeller C, Cotton D, Bocchi E, Bohm M, Choi DJ, Chopra V, Chuquiure E, Giannetti N, Janssens S, Zhang J, Gonzalez Juanatey JR, Kaul S, Brunner-La Rocca HP, Merkely B, Nicholls SJ, Perrone S, Pina I, Ponikowski P, Sattar N, Senni M, Seronde MF, Spinar J, Squire I, Taddei S, Wanner C, Zannad F; EMPEROR-Reduced Trial Investigators. Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes with Empagliflozin in Heart Failure. N Engl J Med. 2020 Oct 8;383(15):1413-1424. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2022190. Epub 2020 Aug 28.
• Background Bourke JP, Bueser T, Quinlivan R. Interventions for preventing and treating cardiac complications in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy and X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Oct 16;10(10):CD009068. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009068.pub3.
• Background Muntoni F. Cardiomyopathy in muscular dystrophies. Curr Opin Neurol. 2003 Oct;16(5):577-83. doi: 10.1097/01.wco.0000093100.34793.81.
• Background Bourke J, Turner C, Bradlow W, Chikermane A, Coats C, Fenton M, Ilina M, Johnson A, Kapetanakis S, Kuhwald L, Morley-Davies A, Quinlivan R, Savvatis K, Schiava M, Yousef Z, Guglieri M. Cardiac care of children with dystrophinopathy and females carrying DMD-gene variations. Open Heart. 2022 Oct;9(2):e001977. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2022-001977.
• Background Authors/Task Force Members:; McDonagh TA, Metra M, Adamo M, Gardner RS, Baumbach A, Bohm M, Burri H, Butler J, Celutkiene J, Chioncel O, Cleland JGF, Coats AJS, Crespo-Leiro MG, Farmakis D, Gilard M, Heymans S, Hoes AW, Jaarsma T, Jankowska EA, Lainscak M, Lam CSP, Lyon AR, McMurray JJV, Mebazaa A, Mindham R, Muneretto C, Francesco Piepoli M, Price S, Rosano GMC, Ruschitzka F, Kathrine Skibelund A; ESC Scientific Document Group. 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: Developed by the Task Force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). With the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC. Eur J Heart Fail. 2022 Jan;24(1):4-131. doi: 10.1002/ejhf.2333.
• Background Braunwald E. Gliflozins in the Management of Cardiovascular Disease. N Engl J Med. 2022 May 26;386(21):2024-2034. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra2115011. No abstract available.
• Background Lava SAG, Laurence C, Di Deo A, Sekarski N, Burch M, Della Pasqua O. Dapagliflozin and Empagliflozin in Paediatric Indications: A Systematic Review. Paediatr Drugs. 2024 May;26(3):229-243. doi: 10.1007/s40272-024-00623-z. Epub 2024 Apr 18.
• Background Verhaert D, Richards K, Rafael-Fortney JA, Raman SV. Cardiac involvement in patients with muscular dystrophies: magnetic resonance imaging phenotype and genotypic considerations. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2011 Jan;4(1):67-76. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.110.960740. No abstract available.
• Background Bellanti F, Della Pasqua O. Modelling and simulation as research tools in paediatric drug development. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2011 May;67 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):75-86. doi: 10.1007/s00228-010-0974-3. Epub 2011 Jan 19.
• Background Bellanti F, Di Iorio VL, Danhof M, Della Pasqua O. Sampling Optimization in Pharmacokinetic Bridging Studies: Example of the Use of Deferiprone in Children With beta-Thalassemia. J Clin Pharmacol. 2016 Sep;56(9):1094-103. doi: 10.1002/jcph.708. Epub 2016 Apr 1.
• Background Loss KL, Shaddy RE, Kantor PF. Recent and Upcoming Drug Therapies for Pediatric Heart Failure. Front Pediatr. 2021 Nov 11;9:681224. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.681224. eCollection 2021.
• Background Lava SA, Simonetti GD, Bianchetti AA, Ferrarini A, Bianchetti MG. Prevention of vitamin D insufficiency in Switzerland: a never-ending story. Int J Pharm. 2013 Nov 30;457(1):353-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2013.08.068. No abstract available.
• Background Cella M, Knibbe C, Danhof M, Della Pasqua O. What is the right dose for children? Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2010 Oct;70(4):597-603. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2009.03591.x. No abstract available.
• Lava SAG, Laurence C, Mallory J, Della Pasqua O, Di Deo A, Villa C, Lang S, Quail M, Burch M. Repurposing Empagliflozin for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy-Associated Cardiomyopathy: Protocol for a Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Proof-of-Concept Trial in Children. Cardiol Ther. 2026 May 30. doi: 10.1007/s40119-026-00456-6. Online ahead of print.

Drugs

Indications