Hitachinaka

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of AZD1163, a new bispecific antibody, in adults with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis RA who are positive for anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies ACPA. The study focuses on patients who have had an inadequate or lost response or intolerance to certain standard treatments. The trial is a Phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at multiple centers to assess AZD1163s impact on RA disease activity. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups to receive subcutaneous injections of either one of three doses of AZD1163 or a matching placebo. All participants will continue their standard care treatments, which may include conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs csDMARDs or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors TNFi with or without csDMARDs. The treatment period lasts 24 weeks, followed by a 28-week safety follow-up phase. Throughout the study, participants will undergo assessments including disease activity scores such as DAS28-CRP, American College of Rheumatology response criteria ACR20 and ACR50, and clinical disease activity indexes. Researchers will also evaluate the pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity of AZD1163. Safety monitoring continues during the follow-up period, and total participation spans approximately 52 weeks.

Researchers are evaluating the combined use of vicadrostat and empagliflozin in adults with chronic heart failure who have a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction LVEF below 40%. Participants must have had chronic heart failure diagnosed at least three months before starting the study. The trial aims to find out if this combination helps people with symptomatic heart failure classified as New York Heart Association classes II to IV. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups, with an equal chance of receiving either vicadrostat plus empagliflozin tablets or placebo plus empagliflozin tablets. The study medicines are taken once daily for approximately six months up to about 3.5 years. During this time, participants may continue their usual heart failure treatments, excluding certain medications. The trial includes a double-blind design, meaning neither participants nor study staff know who receives the active drug or placebo. Throughout the study, participants visit the study site regularly, with the number of visits depending on how long they stay enrolled. Some visits may occur by phone. They answer questions about their well-being, and doctors monitor health status, record any heart failure worsening, hospitalizations, or deaths. The main outcome is the time until cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization, or urgent heart failure visit, which is compared between groups. Safety and side effects are also closely followed during the trial.