Robert Bachman

Randomized controlled trial of the CGRP receptor antagonist MK-3207 in the acute treatment of migraine.

Background: This study evaluated the CGRP receptor antagonist MK-3207 for acute treatment of migraine. Methods: Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, two-stage adaptive study with two interim efficacy analyses to facilitate optimal dose selection. Migraine patients were initially randomized to MK-3207 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 mg or placebo to treat a moderate/severe migraine. One or more doses were to be discontinued based on the first interim analysis and a lower or higher dose could be added based on the second interim analysis. The primary endpoint was two-hour pain freedom. Results: A total of 547 patients took study medication. After the first interim analysis, the two lowest MK-3207 doses (2.5, 5 mg) were identified as showing insufficient efficacy. Per the pre-specified adaptive design decision rule, only the 2.5-mg group was discontinued and the five highest doses (5, 10, 20, 50, 100 mg) were continued into the second stage. After the second interim efficacy analysis, a 200 mg dose was added due to insufficient efficacy at the top three (20, 50, 100 mg) doses. A positive dose-response trend was demonstrated when data were combined across all MK-3207 doses for two-hour pain freedom (p < .001). The pairwise difference versus placebo for two-hour pain freedom was significant for 200 mg (p < .001) and nominally significant for 100 mg and 10 mg (p < .05). The incidence of adverse events appeared comparable between active treatment groups and placebo, and did not appear to increase with increasing dose. Conclusions: MK-3207 was effective and generally well tolerated in the acute treatment of migraine.

A phase IIb randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of ubrogepant for the acute treatment of migraine

Aim The aim of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ubrogepant (MK-1602), a calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist (CGRP-RA), for the acute treatment of migraine. Methods This double-blind, placebo-controlled study randomized 834 participants to treat one migraine attack with ubrogepant 1 mg, 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, or placebo in a 1:1 ratio. The co-primary endpoints were pain freedom and headache response at two hours. The first primary hypothesis tested the dose-response trend for two-hour pain freedom using a logistic regression model. Subsequent hypotheses tested the effects of each dose on the co-primary endpoints, using a closed sequential testing procedure to control for multiplicity. Results A total of 527 participants received ubrogepant and 113 received placebo. A positive response trend in the proportion of participants achieving two-hour pain freedom was demonstrated (p < 0.001). Ubrogepant 100 mg was significantly superior to placebo for two-hour pain freedom (25.5% vs 8.9%) but not for two-hour headache response. Per the prespecified multiplicity strategy, this nonsignificant result precluded further formal hypothesis testing, although the 50 mg and 25 mg doses demonstrated nominal significance over placebo for two-hour pain freedom (unadjusted p < 0.05). Overall, adverse events were similar between ubrogepant and placebo. Conclusion This trial supports ubrogepant’s efficacy and provides further evidence that CGRP-RAs are viable options for the acute treatment of migraine.

Efficacy and tolerability of rizatriptan in pediatric migraineurs: Results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using a novel adaptive enrichment design

Background Treatment options for children and adolescents with migraine are limited. This study evaluated rizatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine in children and adolescents. Methods Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial in migraineurs 6–17 years old with unsatisfactory response to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen/paracetamol. The trial included a double-blind run-in with weight-based rizatriptan dosing (5 mg for <40 kg, 10 mg for ≥40 kg). In the Stage 1 run-in, patients were randomized in a ratio of 20:1 placebo:rizatriptan and were instructed to treat within 30 minutes of a moderate/severe migraine. Patients with mild/no pain after 15 minutes of treatment (responders) took no further study medication, whereas patients with moderate/severe pain (non-responders) proceeded to take study medication in Stage 2. Non-responders who received placebo in Stage 1 were randomized 1:1 to rizatriptan:placebo, whereas non-responders who received rizatriptan in Stage 1 were allocated to placebo in Stage 2. The primary efficacy endpoint was pain freedom at 2 hours after Stage 2 dose in 12–17-year-olds. Results A higher proportion of 12–17-year-olds on rizatriptan had pain freedom at 2 hours compared with those on placebo: 87/284 (30.6%) versus 63/286 (22.0%), odds ratio = 1.55 [95% CI: 1.06 to 2.26], p = 0.025. Adverse events within 14 days of dose in 12–17-year-olds were similar for rizatriptan and placebo. The pattern of findings was similar in 6–17-year-olds. Conclusion Rizatriptan demonstrated a statistically significant improvement over placebo in eliminating pain and was generally well tolerated in migraineurs aged 12–17 and 6–17 years. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01001234

Long-Term Open-Label Safety Study of Rizatriptan Acute Treatment in Pediatric Migraineurs

To evaluate the safety/tolerability of rizatriptan in the long‐term acute treatment of migraine in pediatric patients.

Pembrolizumab and platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy for advanced non–small-cell lung cancer: Phase 1 cohorts from the KEYNOTE-021 study

OBJECTIVES Platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has modest benefit overall, but has the potential to amplify immune responses. In cohorts A-C of the multicohort phase 1/2 study KEYNOTE-021 (Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02039674), we evaluated combinations of platinum-doublet chemotherapy with the anti-programmed death 1 monocloncal antibody pembrolizumab. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with previously untreated, advanced NSCLC without EGFR/ALK aberrations were randomized to pembrolizumab 2 or 10 mg/kg Q3W plus carboplatin area under the serum concentration-time curve (AUC) 6 mg/mL/min plus paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 (cohort A, any histology), carboplatin AUC 6 mg/mL/min plus paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg (cohort B, non-squamous), or carboplatin AUC 5 mg/mL/min plus pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 (cohort C, non-squamous) for 4 cycles followed by maintenance pembrolizumab (cohort A), pembrolizumab plus bevacizumab (cohort B), or pembrolizumab plus pemetrexed (cohort C). Response was assessed by blinded independent central review. RESULTS Overall, 74 patients were randomized; median follow-up was 21.4, 16.4, and 17.4 months in cohorts A, B, and C, respectively. No dose-limiting toxicities occurred in any cohort at either pembrolizumab dose. Most frequent treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were alopecia, fatigue, and nausea. Treatment-related grade 3/4 AEs occurred in 40%, 42%, and 46% of patients in cohorts A, B, and C, respectively; AEs with possible immune etiology occurred in 24%, 50%, and 38% of patients, respectively. Objective response rates were 48%, 56%, and 75% in cohorts A, B, and C, respectively. CONCLUSION Pembrolizumab in combination with carboplatin-paclitaxel and with pemetrexed-carboplatin yielded encouraging antitumor activity and toxicity consistent with known toxicities of platinum-based chemotherapy or pembrolizumab monotherapy.