Soweto

Researchers are evaluating new medicines to prevent HIV-1 Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 infection. This Phase 3 clinical study aims to determine if taking the drug MK-8527 once a month can prevent HIV-1 infection as well as or better than the standard daily pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP. The study also assesses the safety and tolerance of MK-8527 in participants. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group receives 11 mg of MK-8527 once monthly along with a daily placebo pill matching FTCTDF. The other group receives a daily dose of FTC245 mg TDF and a monthly placebo matching MK-8527. This treatment period lasts for approximately two years, followed by an additional 28-day period where all participants receive open-label FTCTDF daily. During the study, participants will undergo regular monitoring to check for HIV-1 infection and any adverse events. Researchers will track the number of participants who acquire HIV-1, experience side effects, or stop treatment due to side effects over the two-year period. Safety and adherence assessments will be conducted to evaluate the study treatments. The total participation time includes the two-year treatment phase plus the 28-day follow-up with open-label FTCTDF.

Researchers are investigating new treatments for metastatic cervical cancer, which is cancer that has spread beyond the cervix, the lower part of the uterus. This study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of the antibody drug conjugate sacituzumab tirumotecan sac-TMT combined with pembrolizumab and bevacizumab. The goal is to find out if these treatments, given together or with some variations, help patients live longer or delay cancer progression compared to standard care. The study has two parts. In Part 1, participants receive sac-TMT, pembrolizumab, and bevacizumab together to assess safety. In Part 2, all participants first get standard induction treatment with pembrolizumab, paclitaxel, and cisplatin or carboplatin, possibly with bevacizumab. Those whose cancer does not worsen then enter maintenance treatment, where they are randomly assigned to receive either pembrolizumab alone or sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab, with optional bevacizumab. Participants are involved for up to about 20 months during maintenance treatment after up to 4 months of induction. The study monitors safety by tracking side effects and treatment discontinuations. Effectiveness is measured by progression-free survival and overall survival up to several years. Quality of life and physical functioning are also assessed through questionnaires. Treatments and evaluations occur through regular intravenous infusions and periodic monitoring visits.

Respiratory syncytial virus RSV is a common virus affecting children, especially young babies, premature infants, and those with heart or lung problems. It is a leading cause of hospitalization for children under 5 years old globally, with many severe cases and deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. This research evaluates the safety of an RSV vaccine called ABRYSVO given to pregnant women and how well it protects their infants from severe RSV infections during the first six months of life, particularly in African and lower-middle income countries where data is limited. Pregnant women will receive either the ABRYSVO vaccine or a placebo in a randomized, double-blind trial. The vaccine contains stabilized RSV prefusion F antigens from virus subgroups A and B. The study will enroll pregnant women at the approved gestational age for vaccination, with participants randomly assigned to receive either the vaccine or placebo in equal numbers. The trial will monitor the safety of the vaccine in mothers and infants and measure how well the vaccine prevents severe RSV lower respiratory tract infections in babies up to 180 days old. Participants will attend antenatal clinics and provide informed consent for themselves and their infants. Researchers will follow the women through pregnancy and delivery, recording any preterm births and birth weights. Infants will be monitored for RSV infections confirmed by laboratory tests, and hospitalizations due to RSV will be tracked up to six months of age. Safety assessments include monitoring adverse events in mothers and babies, with follow-up visits and telephone contacts to ensure comprehensive data collection throughout the trial period.

Researchers are evaluating the efficacy and safety of the combination of divarasib and pembrolizumab compared with pembrolizumab combined with pemetrexed and either carboplatin or cisplatin. This study focuses on adults with previously untreated, advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer NSCLC that has a KRAS G12C mutation. The goal is to assess these treatments as first-line options in this specific lung cancer population. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will take divarasib orally once daily and receive pembrolizumab through an intravenous infusion every three weeks. The other group will receive pembrolizumab, pemetrexed, and either carboplatin or cisplatin via intravenous infusions every three weeks. Treatment continues with these schedules, following the study protocol for up to approximately five years of follow-up. During the study, participants will have regular assessments to monitor their health and response to treatment. These include imaging and clinical evaluations to measure progression-free survival and overall survival for up to five years. Researchers will also track quality of life, symptom changes, treatment side effects, and adverse events using questionnaires and patient-reported outcomes. Safety monitoring and detailed evaluations will help understand the effects of the treatments over the study duration.

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness and safety of combining inavolisib with a cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitor CDK46i and letrozole compared to placebo plus CDK46i and letrozole in adults with endocrine-sensitive PIK3CA-mutated hormone receptor-positive HR, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. This phase III, randomized, double-blind study focuses on participants who have measurable disease and meet specific hormone receptor and HER2 status criteria. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either oral inavolisib once daily along with letrozole and CDK46i or placebo once daily with letrozole and CDK46i. The CDK46i is given on a schedule of either Days 1-21 or Days 1-28 of each 28-day cycle. The study includes parallel groups to compare these treatment combinations over time. During the study, participants will be monitored for progression-free survival, overall survival, response rates, duration of response, clinical benefit, and changes in pain, physical function, and global health status. Safety will be assessed by tracking adverse events and patient-reported treatment side effects using questionnaires. The study will follow participants for up to seven years, with regular evaluations to track disease status and quality of life.

Researchers are evaluating camizestrant against standard endocrine therapy for patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer who have an intermediate or high risk of disease recurrence. These patients must have completed locoregional therapy and at least 2 to 5 years of standard adjuvant endocrine therapy. The study is a Phase III open-label trial focused on improving outcomes for these patients over a long-term period. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either camizestrant orally or continue with the standard endocrine therapy chosen by their investigator, which may include aromatase inhibitors exemestane, letrozole, anastrozole or tamoxifen. Treatment in each group lasts for 60 months. The study allows prior use of CDK46 inhibitors and includes a follow-up period extending up to 10 years from the last patient randomization. During the study, participants will undergo regular assessments to monitor invasive breast cancer-free survival and other outcomes such as invasive disease-free survival, distant relapse-free survival, overall survival, and safety. Researchers will also evaluate symptoms like joint pain, hot flushes, and vaginal dryness using specific scales, along with quality of life measures and pharmacokinetics. Safety monitoring continues up to 28 days after the last dose, and participants remain under observation for up to 10 years total.

Researchers are evaluating the efficacy and safety of iza-bren, a bi-specific antibody-drug conjugate targeting EGFR and HER3 with a chemotherapy payload, compared to treatment chosen by physicians including paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel, carboplatin plus gemcitabine, and capecitabine for patients with first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer TNBC or low estrogen receptor ER-low, HER2-negative breast cancer who cannot receive anti-PDL1 or endocrine therapies. This study includes adults with locally advanced, recurrent inoperable, or metastatic disease who meet specific eligibility criteria. Participants are randomly assigned to receive iza-bren or one of the physicians choice chemotherapy regimens. The treatments are given at specified doses on scheduled days. The study includes two phases Phase 2 to determine the recommended dose of iza-bren and Phase 3 to compare progression-free survival and other outcomes. The study will last several years, with follow-up extending up to approximately 47 months after randomization. During the study, participants will undergo regular assessments including imaging scans to measure tumor response, laboratory tests, and monitoring for adverse events. Quality of life questionnaires will also be completed. Researchers will track progression-free survival, overall survival, treatment-related side effects, tumor size changes, and patient-reported outcomes to evaluate the treatments. The total participation duration may extend up to several years depending on treatment response and follow-up requirements.

Researchers are evaluating new medicines to prevent infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 HIV-1. This Phase 3 clinical trial aims to find out if taking MK-8527 once a month is more effective than a daily standard pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP in preventing HIV-1 infection in women. The study also monitors the safety and tolerability of MK-8527 compared to standard treatment. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups one group receives 11 mg of MK-8527 once monthly along with a placebo daily pill resembling EmtricitabineTenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate FTCTDF, and the other group receives the daily FTCTDF pill plus a monthly placebo resembling MK-8527. This treatment phase lasts for up to approximately two years. Afterward, all participants take open-label FTCTDF daily for an additional 28 days. During the study, participants attend regular visits for up to about two years, during which researchers check for new HIV-1 infections, record any adverse events or side effects, and monitor if participants stop the study medication due to side effects. The primary outcomes include the number of participants who acquire HIV-1 infection, those who experience adverse events, and those who discontinue due to adverse events, all tracked over the treatment period.

Researchers are evaluating quabodepistat-containing treatment regimens for adults and adolescents aged 14 years and older with rifampicin-resistant or multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis RRMDR-TB. The study aims to determine if adding quabodepistat to other TB drugs can shorten treatment duration to 4 months for fluoroquinolone-sensitive TB and provide a safer alternative compared to the current 6-month WHO-endorsed regimens. This Phase 3, randomized, open-label trial also compares treatments for patients with fluoroquinolone-resistant TB. Participants will be divided into two main groups based on fluoroquinolone sensitivity. Those with fluoroquinolone-sensitive RRMDR-TB will receive either an experimental 4-month regimen BPaQM bedaquiline, pretomanid, quabodepistat, moxifloxacin or a 6-month control regimen BPaLM bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid, moxifloxacin. Those with fluoroquinolone-resistant RRMDR-TB will receive either an experimental 6-month regimen BPaQ bedaquiline, pretomanid, quabodepistat or a control 6-month regimen BPaL bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid. Dosing schedules vary by regimen and last either 4 or 6 months. During the 16-month follow-up, participants will undergo regular assessments including sputum samples, chest X-rays, laboratory tests, and safety evaluations. Researchers will measure treatment effectiveness by the proportion with unfavorable outcomes 12 months after randomization and monitor adverse events. Additional outcomes include time to sputum culture conversion, microbiological relapse, and drug plasma levels. Safety will be closely monitored throughout treatment and follow-up periods.

Researchers are comparing the effectiveness of two different combinations of immunotherapy drugs with chemotherapy for adults with stage IV or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer that has PD-L1 expression of 1% or higher. This phase 3, randomized study focuses on participants who have not previously received systemic treatment for advanced disease. The goal is to determine which combination better improves overall survival and other outcomes in this patient group. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either Nivolumab plus Relatlimab combined with chemotherapy or Pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy. The chemotherapy drugs used include Carboplatin, Pemetrexed, or Cisplatin, given in specified doses on scheduled days. Treatment is given as first-line therapy for their cancer, with dosing details managed throughout the study period. During the study, participants will undergo imaging scans like CT or MRI to measure disease status, and blood tests to monitor safety and side effects. The main outcome measured is overall survival over up to five years, along with progression-free survival, response rates, duration of response, and adverse events. Researchers will also assess symptoms related to lung cancer over two years. Participants are monitored regularly to track these outcomes and ensure safety throughout the study duration, which may last several years.