First UK Patient in MESSINA EoE Trial

At Darlington Memorial Hospital the first UK patient has been recruited to the MESSINA research study for EoE. The study is investigating the use of biologic drug Benralizumab as a new treatment for eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE). It's hoped that the once a month drug will decrease the eosinophilic inflammation in the oesophagus and improve symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, food getting stuck in the throat, regurgitation and chest pain.

Benralizumab has been shown to be effective in a type of asthma that has high levels of eosinophils and is approved for use in asthma patients in the US, EU, Japan, and other countries.

MESSINA EoE study has 192 centres participating around the globe including the United Kingdom, USA, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Russia and Poland.

Professor Anjan Dhar, UK Principal Investigator of the Messina study said:

“EoE is still a relatively new disease having only been identified in the early 90s, but it is now considered a major cause of dysphagia in young patients. Research plays a vital role in finding new treatments for patients with EoE and to further our understanding of the condition.”

MESSINA study details

The study is a 52-week multicentre randomised double-blind placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial. The co-primary endpoints are:

1. Proportion of patients with a histologic response at Week 24 (defined as a peak oesophageal intraepithelial eosinophil count ≤ 6 eos/hpf)
2. Changes from baseline in Dysphagia Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ) at Week 24

Benralizumab active solution will be administered subcutaneously.

Further details of MESSINA study on ClinicalTrials.gov can be found here.

See if you qualify to take part in the trial

You may be eligible to participate in the MESSINA Study if you:

1. are between 12 and 65 years old
2. have received a confirmed diagnosis of EoE
3. are experiencing symptoms from EoE, such as difficulty swallowing, getting food stuck in your throat, and upper abdominal pain

You must meet all other study criteria to take part in the MESSINA Study.

Follow the links below to see if you qualify. Please select your own country if it's listed:

• United Kingdom
• USA
• Canada
• Netherlands
• Spain
• Germany
• Poland
• Japan

Links

• MESSINA Study
• MESSINA ClinicalTrials page
• NIHR announcement