Lighthouse II
Research type
Research Study
Full title
RANDOMISED DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED PHASE 3 TRIAL OF TRIUMEQ IN AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS
IRAS ID
271218
Contact name
Ammar Al-Chalabi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Eudract number
2020-005069-15
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN88446415
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 2 days
Research summary
What do you want to do?
We want to see if Triumeq, a drug used to block viruses, might be effective in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To find out, we will be doing a clinical trial in which some people receive Triumeq, and others do not, so that we can compare the two groups of people.
Why are you testing Triumeq in ALS?
Every cell in the body contains instructions called genes, stored as DNA. Everybody’s DNA also
carries genes for ancient viruses. These lie dormant but “hitch-hike” along with our genes. We know
that these viruses can kill the nerve cells involved in ALS. We think that in people with ALS these
viruses are activated, and help to cause the disease. Triumeq is very effective against these hitchhiking
viruses, so it makes sense to test it in people with ALS.
We have already shown that people with ALS can take Triumeq safely. Our next step is to try it in 300
people with ALS to see if it is effective.
How will you test it?
We will carry out a clinical trial. People who take part will be chosen randomly to either receive
Triumeq or a placebo. The placebo looks and tastes the same as Triumeq but does not have any
Triumeq in it. Neither ourselves nor the people taking part will know who is taking Triumeq until the
study ends. We will monitor the people in the trial for up to four years to see if taking Triumeq makes
people live longer and slows down ALS.REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0059
Date of REC Opinion
1 Feb 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion