NCT05069974

Alternative Antibiotics for Syphilis

Oral and Neuro-Penetrative Alternative Antibiotics for Patients With Syphilis

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 3
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 224 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Fundación FLS de Lucha Contra el Sida, las Enfermedades Infecciosas y la Promoción de la Salud y la Ciencia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 99 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The Trep-AB clinical trial will test the efficacy of an investigational neuropenetrative drug, Linezolid (LZD), compared to standard treatment, Benzathine penicillin G (BPG), for early syphilis in humans. The overarching idea of the work proposed herein is to investigate the use of LZD to treat syphilis, conducting a randomized controlled clinical trial to evaluate this new indication of a known antibacterial agent.

Detailed description

The syphilis epidemic is rampant around the world, and therapeutic options are restricted to an antibiotic, intramuscular (IM) BPG, which does not efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier. Treponema pallidum (T.p.), the bacteria that causes syphilis, invades the central nervous system (CNS) in 40% of patients, usually without symptoms. The prognostic implications of CNS invasion are the potential for severe neurologic complications, and treatment failure due to sequestered bacteria in the CNS. When indicated, the only way to identify and treat neurosyphilis is by lumbar puncture to examine the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), followed by intravenous (IV) Benzyl penicillin therapy. The invetigators have carried out in silico studies showing that oxazolidinones are potentially active against T.p., are neuropenetrative and can be administered orally. The invetigators have carried out preclinical studies using an in vitro culture system for T.p. and the use of the syphilis animal model with rabbits to test different antibiotics. The invetigators have confirmed that LZD was the best compound that could go on to be tested in clinical trials to treat syphilis. The Trep-AB clinical trial will test the efficacy of an investigational neuropenetrative drug, LZD, compared to standard treatment BPG, for early syphilis in humans conducting a randomized controlled clinical. Primary objective is to demonstrate the non-inferiority of LZD treatment compared with standard BPG treatment to cure patients with early syphilis. Seconday objective is to isolate T.p. strains in clinical samples to subtype DNA from patients at baseline and during recurrence or treatment failure.

Conditions

• Early Latent Syphilis
• Primary Syphilis
• Secondary Syphilis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Linezolid 600 mg	After randomized to the experimental arm, the patient will take 1 tablet of Linezolid every 12hours during 10 days or 1 tablet of of Linezolid every 24hours during 5 days.
DRUG	Benzathine Penicilllin G	After randomized to the control arm, the patient will receive a single dose of intramuscular BPG.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-10-14
• Primary completion: 2026-04-01
• Completion: 2026-04-01
• First posted: 2021-10-06
• Last updated: 2025-07-22

Locations

6 sites across 2 countries: Spain, United Kingdom