Optimal dose determination of enerisant (TS-091) for patients with narcolepsy: two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials

BACKGROUND: The histamine H3 receptor has emerged as one of the most promising targets of novel pharmacotherapy for narcolepsy. Studies now aim to investigate the optimal dose of enerisant, a novel H3 antagonist/inverse agonist, for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy. METHODS: We conducted two phase 2, fixed-dose, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials in patients with narcolepsy. The first phase 2 study (Study 1) was conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of enerisant at dosages of 25, 50, and 100 mg/day administered for 3 weeks based on the results of a phase 1 study conducted on healthy volunteers. The primary endpoint was mean sleep latency in maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT), and the secondary endpoint was the total score on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The dosages of enerisant in the second phase 2 study (Study 2) were set at 5 and 10 mg/day based on the simulation of receptor occupancy results from positron emission tomography study. RESULTS: Forty-six and fifty-three patients were randomized in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively. The efficacy of enerisant was partially confirmed in Study 1 with ESS; however, the doses were not tolerated, and there were many withdrawals due to adverse events (mainly insomnia, headache, and nausea). The doses in Study 2 were well tolerated, with a lower incidence of adverse events in Study 2 than in Study 1, although the efficacy could not be confirmed with MWT and ESS in Study 2. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal dose of enerisant could not be determined in these two studies. Although enerisant has a favorable pharmacokinetic profile, it is thought to have large interindividual variabilities in terms of efficacy and safety, suggesting the necessity of tailored dosage adjustments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03267303; Registered 30 August 2017 (Study 2). Japic identifier: JapicCTI-142529; Registered 7 May 2014 (Study 1) and JapicCTI-173689; Registered 30 August 2017, https://www.clinicaltrials.jp/cti-user/trial/ShowDirect.jsp?clinicalTrialId=29277 (Study 2). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-022-03785-7.