STURGIS, Mich., March 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Maggie’s Pearl, a collaboration between Perlara, Maggie’s Cure, and the Mayo Clinic, announced that the Phase III trial of oral epalrestat therapy in pediatric subjects with PMM2-CDG (formerly, Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation Type 1a) has been green-lighted to transition to open label. All study subjects on placebo may transition to open label epalrestat at their 15-month study visit. The principal investigator, study team, participants, and their families remain blinded to original treatment assignments until all subjects reach their 15-month visit.
Administered by the Mayo Clinic, the clinical trial is a prospective, single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. In December 2021, the Food and Drug Administration notified Maggie’s Pearl that the Phase III clinical trial in 40 patients with PMM2-CDG could proceed. The trial recruited 38 study subjects and closed enrollment in November 2023. The first 29 participants will complete their 15-month visits over the next 2-3 months.
PMM2-CDG (phosphomannomutase-2-congenital disorder of glycosylation) is caused by mutations in a gene that supplies the instructions for making the PMM2 enzyme. The enzyme is involved in a process called glycosylation, in which sugar chains are created, altered, and chemically attached to specific proteins to form glycoproteins. Those proteins are key to normal growth and function of tissues and organs. No approved treatment options exist for patients with PMM2-CDG.