Tuberculosis, Multidrug-ResistantPhase 2DRAMATICNCT03828201
Efficacy and Tolerability of Bedaquiline, Delamanid, Levofloxacin, Linezolid, and Clofazimine to Treat MDR-TB
A Phase 2 study testing Delamanid, Levofloxacin and Bedaquiline in people with Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant, run by Boston University at 2 sites in 2 countries.
Trial summary
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is tuberculosis (TB) that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most important anti-TB drugs. It occurs in 3.6% of newly diagnosed TB patients in the world and 17% of patients who have been previously treated. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 12 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant
- What is being tested?
- Delamanid, Levofloxacin and Bedaquiline
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 271 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesin 2 countries
- Study dates
- 7 Jun 2022to May 2027
- Phase
- Phase 2
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 12 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Males and females age ≥12 years. Prior to study procedures, if ≥18 years of age, provides informed consent; if <18 years of age, child provides informed assent and has a parent or guardian who provides informed consent on the participant's behalf.
- Has pulmonary TB based on investigator assessment of all available information (e.g., chest radiograph, sputum smear, culture, molecular testing).
- Has a sputum sample that is positive for M. tuberculosis that is rifamycin-resistant and fluoroquinolone-susceptible by molecular assay.
- Is HIV seropositive or seronegative; HIV serostatus must be assessed at screening if either (a) HIV serostatus is unknown, or (b) the last documented negative HIV test was more than two (2) months prior to screening.
- Willing to attend scheduled follow-up visits and undergo study assessments.
- Participants of child-bearing potential must agree either (a) to practice an adequate birth control (defined as one of the following oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, contraceptive implants under the skin, contraceptive rings or patches or injections, diaphragms with spermicide or condoms with foam) or (b) to abstain from heterosexual intercourse during study regimen.
Who cannot join
- Current MTB isolate is known at screening to be fluoroquinolone-resistant.
- History of allergy (hypersensitivity) or intolerability to one or more agents in the study regimen (i.e., Delamanid, Linezolid, Levofloxacin, Clofazimine or Bedaquiline)
- History of serotonin syndrome
- History of symptomatic ventricular arrhythmia or is taking anti-arrhythmic agents
- History of optic neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy
- History of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Marfan Syndrome or aortic aneurism
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- History of prior treatment with delamanid or linezolid for TB for greater than one month.
- Has at screening received ≥14 days of second-line anti-TB drugs during current TB episode
- Has at screening a Karnofsky score of ≤40 or, in the opinion of the Investigator, is unlikely to survive 76 weeks.
- Has at screening laboratory results that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Hemoglobin concentration 8.0 g/dL (<80 g/L)
- Platelet count of <80,000/mm3
- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <2000/ mm3
- Serum creatinine >2.0 mg/dL (>177 µmol/L)
- Serum ALT >3x upper limit of normal (ULN)
- Total bilirubin >3x upper limit of normal (ULN)
- Serum albumin <2.8 g/dL (<28 g/L)
- For women of childbearing potential, a positive or indeterminate serum pregnancy test
- For women of childbearing potential, has a positive or indeterminate urine pregnancy test on the day of randomization.
- Has at screening a mean QTcF >450 msec based on three ECGs.
- At screening requires ongoing use of prohibited drugs indicated in section 4.2
- At screening, has weight less than 33 Kg
- In the investigator's judgement is unable to provide consent (if ≥18 years of age) or unable to provide assent (if >12 years of age).
- History of congestive heart failure
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 2 countries.
2 sites in 2 countries
Philippines1 site
TB-HIV Innovations & Clinical Research Foundation Corp
Silang, 4114
About this study
Official title: Prospective, Randomized, Partially Blinded, Phase 2 Study of the Efficacy and Tolerability of Bedaquiline, Delamanid, Levofloxacin, Linezolid, and Clofazimine for Treatment of Patients With MDR-TB
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is tuberculosis (TB) that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most important anti-TB drugs. It occurs in 3.6% of newly diagnosed TB patients in the world and 17% of patients who have been previously treated. In 2017, approximately 600,000 people were estimated to have acquired MDR-TB. However, only 25% of persons with MDR-TB were diagnosed and started on treatment, reflecting inadequate diagnostic capacity and lack of TB treatment capacity.
In this multicenter, randomized, partially blinded, four-arm, phase 2 study, the investigators will examine the efficacy and safety of an all-oral regimen of bedaquiline, delamanid, levofloxacin, linezolid, and clofazimine given for 16, 24, 32 or 40 weeks
Read the detailed description
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is tuberculosis that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most important drugs in treating TB. In 2017, approximately 558,000 new people were estimated to have developed MDR-TB, and 8.5% of the cases had extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).(1) Current WHO-endorsed MDR-TB treatment regimens take 9-20 months to complete and are associated with substantial toxicity, including deafness from injectable agents, hepatitis from pyrazinamide and severe neuropathy from linezolid. Given the long duration and toxicities of MDR-TB regimens, it is perhaps not surprising that WHO reports that only 25% of patients with MDR-TB are enrolled into WHO-endorsed treatment regimens. Thus, there is an urgent need for shorter, less toxic treatments for MDR-TB. This proposal will determine the efficacy, safety, tolerability and optimal duration of a novel, all oral MDR-TB treatment regimen while addressing three major challenges with innovations that have the potential to transform future trials.
The proposed DRAMATIC (Duration Randomized Anti-MDR-TB And Tailored Intervention Clinical) Trial is a multicenter, randomized, partially blinded, four-arm, phase 2 trial that will examine an injectable- and pyrazinamide-sparing regimen of bedaquiline, delamanid, levofloxacin, linezolid, and clofazimine. The DRAMATIC regimen limits the administration of linezolid to the initial 8 weeks of treatment, the window before linezolid-related neuropathy occurs. Animal and human studies provide evidence for the potential efficacy of this 5-drug regimen, but the optimal duration of treatment remains uncertain.(2-4)
Primary Objectives:
- Describe the relationship between the duration of the experimental regimen and the proportion of participants with sustained cure at 76 weeks after randomization without treatment failure or relapse.
- Describe the relationship between baseline prognostic risk strata and sustained cure at 76 weeks after randomization without treatment failure or relapse.
- Evaluate the association between novel biologic markers and sustained cure at 76 weeks after randomization without treatment failure or relapse. Secondary Objectives:
- Identify the shortest duration of the study regimen that has acceptable safety and efficacy for a Phase 3 clinical trial of the DRAMATIC regimen for treatment of MDR-TB.
- Describe the frequency, magnitude, time course of and risk factors for QTc prolongation associated with the study regimen.
- Demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of implementing the new duration-randomized design in a multi-centre randomized trial of drug-resistant TB.
- Determine if time to sputum culture conversion predicts optimal duration of treatment when stratified by extent of disease.
- Describe the relationship between the duration of the experimental regimen and the proportion of participants with sustained cure at 90 weeks and up to 104 weeks after randomization without treatment failure or relapse.
- Assess vital status at 90 weeks and up to 132 weeks post randomization.
Development of a shorter, better-tolerated treatment regimen will greatly enhance the ability of TB control programs to treat the growing number of patients. The DRAMATIC Trial will employ an innovative and efficient new design to establish a robust, nontoxic MDR-TB treatment regimen and identify the minimal duration for which it needs to be administered. These results will speed the process of moving forward to a confirmatory phase 3 clinical trial and increase the likelihood that such a trial is successful.
- Conditions
- Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant
- Being tested
- Delamanid, Levofloxacin, Bedaquiline, Clofazimine, Linezolid
- Keywords
- bedaquiline (BDQ), delamanid (DLM), linezolid (LZD), levofloxacin (LFX), clofazimine (CF)
- Medical subject headings
- Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
DelamanidDrug
Also called Deltyba
Frequency: daily Route of administration: oral
Delamanid is a medication used to treat tuberculosis. Specifically it is used, along with other antituberculosis medications, for active multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. It is taken by mouth.
LevofloxacinDrug
Also called Levaquin
Frequency: daily Route of administration: oral
Levofloxacin is an antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections including acute bacterial sinusitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, chronic prostatitis, and some types of gastroenteritis. Along with other antibiotics it may be used to treat tuberculosis.
BedaquilineDrug
Also called Sirturo
Frequency: daily Route of administration: oral
Bedaquiline is indicated for use as part of an appropriate combination regimen for pulmonary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in adult patients when an effective treatment regimen cannot otherwise be composed for reasons of resistance or tolerability.
ClofazimineDrug
Also called Lamprene
Frequency: daily Route of administration: oral
Clofazimine has shown activity against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and is now recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat drug resistant tuberculosis as a "Group B" drug. It is thought that clofazimine acts by inhibiting the formation of matrixes within the DNA and thus delaying the growth of the bacterium. Clofazimine first received FDA approval in 1986, although its use in the treatment of MDR-TB has not been approved by any stringent regulatory authorities and it is therefore used "off-label" for this function.
LinezolidDrug
Also called Zyvox
Frequency: daily Route of administration: oral
Linezolid is an antibiotic used for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to other antibiotics.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Investigational: DRAMATIC-16 weeks | Experimental | delamanid 300 mg orally, by mouth (PO) once a day (QD), 16 weeks levofloxacin 1000 mg PO QD, 16 weeks clofazimine 100 mg PO QD, 16 weeks bedaquiline 200 mg PO QD x 8 wk then 100 mg PO QD remainder linezolid 600 mg PO QD, Initial 16 weeks only Receives: Drug: Delamanid; Drug: Levofloxacin; Drug: Bedaquiline; Drug: Clofazimine; Drug: Linezolid |
| Investigational: DRAMATIC-24 weeks | Experimental | delamanid 300 mg orally, by mouth (PO) once a day (QD), 24 weeks levofloxacin 1000 mg PO QD, 24 weeks clofazimine 100 mg PO QD, 24 weeks bedaquiline 200 mg PO QD x 8 wk then 100 mg PO QD remainder linezolid 600 mg PO QD, Initial 16 weeks only Receives: Drug: Delamanid; Drug: Levofloxacin; Drug: Bedaquiline; Drug: Clofazimine; Drug: Linezolid |
| Investigational: DRAMATIC-32 weeks | Experimental | delamanid 300 mg orally, by mouth (PO) once a day (QD), 32 weeks levofloxacin 1000 mg PO QD, 32 weeks clofazimine 100 mg PO QD, 32 weeks bedaquiline 200 mg PO QD x 8 wk then 100 mg PO QD remainder linezolid 600 mg PO QD, Initial 16 weeks only Receives: Drug: Delamanid; Drug: Levofloxacin; Drug: Bedaquiline; Drug: Clofazimine; Drug: Linezolid |
| Investigational: DRAMATIC-40 weeks | Experimental | delamanid 300 mg orally, by mouth (PO) once a day (QD), 40 weeks levofloxacin 1000 mg PO QD, 40 weeks clofazimine 100 mg PO QD, 40 weeks bedaquiline 200 mg PO QD x 8 wk then 100 mg PO QD remainder linezolid 600 mg PO QD, Initial 16 weeks only Receives: Drug: Delamanid; Drug: Levofloxacin; Drug: Bedaquiline; Drug: Clofazimine; Drug: Linezolid |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Treatment Efficacy - Frequency of "successful treatment" outcomes
A participant's outcome will be classified as successful if, at 76 weeks after initiation of treatment, they have a "negative" sputum culture and were not previously classified as unsuccessful; if the participant is unable to produce sputum at that time, the outcome will be classified as successful if they had a negative culture result at the last visit at which they had a sputum culture result.
A participant's outcome will be classified as unsuccessful if any of the following occur prior to week 76: Addition or replacement of 2 or more anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs from the assigned regimen, the participant has a positive culture for M. tuberculosis and that isolate is not demonstrated to be genetically different from the initial isolate, undergoing surgery for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), lost to follow-up, surgery for MDR-TB, extended treatment, and death.
Measured: Week 76
Treatment Safety - Frequency of participants with grade 3, 4, or 5 adverse events
The primary outcome for safety are Grade 3, 4, or 5 adverse events
Measured: 44 weeks
Secondary outcomes (1)
Efficacy outcome- Frequency of participants who survive
Evaluate survival at 90 weeks and up to 132 weeks post randomization.
Measured: Week 90 and up to Week 132
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted4 Feb 2019
- Study start7 Jun 2022
- Primary completionMay 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionMay 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Tuberculosis, Multidrug-ResistantStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 271 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Boston University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., University of California, San Francisco, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), University of Colorado, Denver, Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM), National Lung Hospital, Vietnam, TB-HIV Innovations & Clinical Research Foundation Corp, Philippines
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Charles R Horsburgh, Boston University
- Investigators
- Charles Horsburgh, MD, Principal investigator, Boston UniversityPayam Nahid, MD, Principal investigator, University of California, San Francisco
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03828201
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- H39017
- Other IDs
- U01AI152980
- Acronym
- DRAMATIC
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 29 Jan 2019
- Last updated
- 8 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Kaur P, Chaisson LH, Kiragu ZW, Buddadhumaruk P, Austin AF, Gao Y, Wirtz VJ, Arbeit RD, Fetalvero KB, Nguyen HB, Nguyen NV, Ha H, Eisenach K, Walter ND, Mitnick CD, Gler MTS, Phan H, Nahid P, Phillips PPJ, Horsburgh CR, Velasquez GE. Study protocol for a duration-randomized clinical trial to determine the optimal length of treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis with a 5-drug regimen: The DRAMATIC trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2025 May;152:107875. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2025.107875. Epub 2025 Mar 8.
PubMed 40064371