Pentosan polysulfate sodium for Ross River virus-induced arthralgia: a phase 2a, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

BACKGROUND: Alphaviruses, such as Ross River (RRV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV), cause significant global morbidity, with outbreaks of crippling joint inflammation and pain, leaving patients incapacitated for months to years. With no available vaccine or specific therapeutic for any alphaviral disease, and a growing economic and public health burden, there is a serious need for the development of specific therapies. METHODS: This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) in subjects with RRV-induced arthralgia in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Twenty subjects were randomized 2:1 to subcutaneous PPS (2 mg/kg) or placebo (sodium chloride 0.9%) twice weekly for 6 weeks. Safety evaluation included physical examination, concomitant medications, and laboratory findings. Efficacy assessments included change from baseline in joint function (hand grip strength and RAPID3) and quality of life (SF-36) at Days 15, 29, 39 and 81 after treatment initiation. Inflammatory and cartilage degradation biomarkers were exploratory endpoints. RESULTS: PPS was well tolerated, with a similar proportion of subjects reporting at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) in the treatment and placebo groups. Injection site reactions were the most common TEAE and occurred more frequently in the PPS group. Dominant hand grip strength and SF-36 scores improved with PPS at all time points assessed, with hand grip strength improvement of 6.99 kg (p = 0.0189) higher than placebo at Day 15. PPS showed significant improvements versus placebo in adjusted mean relative change from baseline for RAPID3 Pain (p = 0.0197) and Total (p = 0.0101) scores at Day 15. At the conclusion of the study overall joint symptoms, assessed by RAPID3, showed near remission in 61.5% of PPS subjects versus 14.3% of placebo subjects. Additionally, PPS treatment improved COMP, CTX-II, CCL1, CXCL12, CXCL16 and CCL17 biomarker levels versus placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the improvements in strength and joint symptoms warrant further evaluation of PPS as a specific treatment for RRV-induced and other forms of arthritis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry #ACTRN12617000893303. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-021-04123-w.