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PurposeSepsis-associated immunosuppression increases hospital-acquired infection and viral reactivation risk. A key underlying mechanism is programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)-mediated T-cell function impairment. This is one of the first clinical safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) assessments of the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab and its effect on immune biomarkers in sepsis.MethodsRandomized, double-blind, parallel-group, Phase 1b study in 31 adults at 10 US hospital ICUs with sepsis diagnosed ≥ 24 h before study treatment, ≥ 1 organ dysfunction, and absolute lymphocyte count ≤ 1.1 × 103 cells/μL. Participants received one nivolumab dose [480 mg (n = 15) or 960 mg (n = 16)]; follow-up was 90 days. Primary endpoints were safety and PK parameters.ResultsTwelve deaths occurred [n = 6 per study arm; 40% (480 mg) and 37.5% (960 mg)]. Serious AEs occurred in eight participants [n = 1, 6.7% (480 mg); n = 7, 43.8% (960 mg)]. AEs considered by the investigator to be possibly drug-related and immune-mediated occurred in five participants [n = 2, 13.3% (480 mg); n = 3, 18.8% (960 mg)]. Mean ± SD terminal half-life was 14.7 ± 5.3 (480 mg) and 15.8 ± 7.9 (960 mg) days. All participants maintained > 90% receptor occupancy (RO) 28 days post-infusion. Median (Q1, Q3) mHLA-DR levels increased to 11,531 (6528, 19,495) and 11,449 (6225, 16,698) mAbs/cell in the 480- and 960-mg arms by day 14, respectively. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels did not increase.ConclusionsIn this sepsis population, nivolumab administration did not result in unexpected safety findings or indicate any 'cytokine storm'. The PK profile maintained RO > 90% for ≥ 28 days. Further efficacy and safety studies are warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER (CLINICALTRIALS.GOV): NCT02960854.

This randomized, double-blind, single-and multiple-ascending dose study assessed the pharmacokinetics (PKs), pharmacodynamics, and safety of deucravacitinib (Sotyktu™), a selective and potent small-molecule inhibitor of tyrosine kinase 2, in 100 (75 active, 25 placebo) healthy volunteers (NCT02534636). Deucravacitinib was rapidly absorbed, with a half-life of 8-15 h, and 1.4-1.9-fold accumulation after multiple dosing. Deucravacitinib inhibited interleukin (IL)-12/IL-18-induced interferon (IFN)γ production ex vivo in a dose-and concentration-dependent manner. Following in vivo challenge with IFNα-2α, deucravacitinib demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of lymphocyte count decreases and expression of 53 IFN-regulated genes. There were no serious adverse events (AEs); the overall frequency of AEs was similar in the deucravacitinib (64%) and placebo (68%) groups. In this first-in-human study, deucravacitinib inhibited IL-12/IL-23 and type I IFN pathways in healthy volunteers, with favorable PK and safety profiles. Deucravacitinib is a promising therapeutic option for immune-mediated diseases, including Crohn's disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P) binding to the S1P‐1 receptor (S1P1R) controls the egress of lymphocytes from lymphoid organs and targets modulation of immune responses in autoimmune diseases. Pharmacologic modulation of S1P receptors has been linked to heart rate reduction. BMS‐986166, a prodrug of the active phosphorylated metabolite BMS‐986166‐P, presents an improved cardiac safety profile in preclinical studies compared to other S1P1R modulators. The pharmacokinetics, safety, and pharmacodynamics of BMS‐986166 versus placebo after single (0.75–5.0 mg) and repeated (0.25–1.5 mg/day) oral administration were assessed in healthy participants after a 1‐day lead‐in placebo period. A population model was developed to jointly describe BMS‐986166 and BMS‐986166‐P pharmacokinetics and predict individual exposures. Inhibitory sigmoid models described the relationships between average daily BMS‐986166‐P concentrations and nadir of time‐matched (day –1) placebo‐corrected heart rate on day 1 (nDDHR, where DD represents ∆∆) and nadir of absolute lymphocyte count (nALC). Predicted decreases in nDDHR and nALC were 9 bpm and 20% following placebo, with maximum decreases of 10 bpm in nDDHR due to drug effect, and approximately 80% in nALC due to drug and placebo. A 0.5‐mg/day dose regimen achieves the target 65% reduction in nALC associated with a 2‐bpm decrease in nDDHR over placebo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), patients remain at risk for subsequent cardiovascular (CV) events. In the AEGIS-II trial, CSL112, a human apolipoprotein A-I derived from plasma that enhances cholesterol efflux, did not significantly reduce the first occurrence of CV death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke through 90 days compared with placebo. However, an analysis involving only the first event may not capture the totality of the clinical impact of an intervention because patients may experience multiple events. This prespecified exploratory analysis examines the effect of CSL112 on total burden of nonfatal ischemic events (ie, recurrent MI and stroke) and CV death. A total of 18,219 patients with AMI, multivessel coronary artery disease, and additional CV risk factors were randomized to either 4 weekly infusions of 6 g CSL112 (n = 9,112) or matching placebo (n = 9,107). A negative binomial regression model was applied to estimate the effect of CSL112 compared with placebo on the rate ratio (RR) of ischemic events. For CV death, MI, and stroke, there were numerically fewer total events at 90 days (503 vs 545 events; rate ratio [RR]: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.76-1.03, P = 0.11), and nominally significantly fewer total events at 180 days (745 vs 821 events, RR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77-0.99; P = 0.04) and 365 days (1,120 vs 1,211 events; RR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.80-0.99; P = 0.04). Subsequent events constituted 13% of events at 90 days, 17% at 180 days, and 22% at 1 year. Similar findings were seen with the total occurrence of nonfatal MI and CV death. When type II MIs, unlikely to be modified by enhancing cholesterol efflux, were excluded, there were nominally significant reductions in the total occurrence of nonfatal MI (excluding type 2) and CV death at all time points (90 days: RR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.68-0.97; P = 0.02; 180 days: RR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.71-0.95; P < 0.01; 365 days: RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.76-0.98; P = 0.02). In this prespecified exploratory analysis of the AEGIS-II trial, 4 weekly infusions of CSL112 among high-risk patients after AMI significantly reduced the total burden of nonfatal ischemic events and CV death at 180 and 365 days compared with placebo. (AEGIS-II [Study to Investigate CSL112 in Subjects With Acute Coronary Syndrome]; NCT03473223) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]