Improving PRegnancy Outcomes With PReVEntive Therapy in Africa-2 (IMPROVE-2)

Summary

2.3.3 Short technical protocol summary Background: Pregnant women represent a vulnerable population for malaria. HIV-infected women are particularly at risk. In HIV-infected pregnant women, WHO recommends daily cotrimoxazole (CTX), an antifolate drug, for malaria chemoprevention and prophylaxis against opportunistic infection. However, there is cross-resistance with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), and high levels of antifolate resistance threatens the antimalarial effect of CTX. Recent trials with intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) with mefloquine in HIV-infected women on daily CTX, suggested that chemoprevention with an effective antimalarial markedly improves the protection against malaria compared to daily CTX alone. However, mefloquine was not well tolerated.

The long-acting combination of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) is well tolerated and has shown great promise as IPTp in HIV-negative women in East-Africa. Chemoprevention with monthly DP has also been explored in HIV-infected pregnant women on daily CTX in Uganda. Unfortunately, the study was inconclusive because malaria transmission was too low and a clinically relevant drug interaction with efavirenz (EFV) was found reducing the exposure to DP. WHO now recommends dolutegravir (DTG) based combination antiretroviral therapy (ARTs) as the preferred firstline regimen including for pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As a result, many countries in Africa are now transitioning to DTG-based combination antiretroviral therapy (cARTs). No such drug-drug interaction is expected between DTG and DP. We will, therefore, assess the safety and efficacy of malaria chemoprevention with monthly DP in HIV-infected women on daily CTX and DTG-based cARTs.

Objectives and methods: This is a 2-arm, individually-randomized, multi-centre, placebo-controlled superiority trial comparing the safety and efficacy of daily CTX plus monthly DP ('CTX-DP') versus daily CTX plus monthly placebo-DP (i.e. 'CTX-alone', control arm) to reduce malaria and the adverse effects of malaria in 898 (449 per arm) HIV-infected pregnant women on DTG-based cARTs. The study will be conducted in 8 hospitals in Kenya and Malawi in high SP-resistance areas with a high prevalence of malaria. These are the same sites where the sister trial in HIV-uninfected women is being conducted in Kenya and Malawi (IMPROVE trial). Both the mother and baby will be followed for 6-8 weeks after delivery. The study is powered at 80% (alpha=0.05) to detect ≥50% relative risk reduction (RR=0.50) in the primary outcome (cumulative incidence of malaria infection) from 12% in the CTX-alone arm (control arm) to 6% in in the interventions arm allowing for 20% non-contributors. The trial includes a pharmacokinetic assessment, cardiac monitoring for safety, assessment of antimalarial drug and the impact on immune responses to malaria and other pathogens.

Conditions

• Pregnancy; HIV; Malaria

Interventions

DRUG

Intermittent Preventive Therapy with Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine

Monthly DP fixed dose of 3 tablets (40 mg of dihydroartemisinin and 320 mg of piperaquine) daily for three days until delivery. All participants will (continue to) receive daily cotrimoxazole (CTX) (one double-strength tablet of 160mg of sulfamethoxazole and 800mg of trimethoprim) and anti-retroviral drugs.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kenya Medical Research Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• Kamuzu University of Health Sciences

  collaborator OTHER

• Kenya National AIDS & STI Control Programme

  collaborator OTHER

• KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Program

  collaborator OTHER

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

  collaborator FED

• University of Copenhagen

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Cape Town

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Massachusetts, Worcester

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Melbourne

  collaborator OTHER

• CardiaBase

  collaborator OTHER

• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Feiko terKuile, MD-PhD · Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-11-11

Primary Completion

2022-04-15

Completion

2022-08-30

Countries

• Kenya

Study Locations