Nicholas I Paton, Meera Gurumurthy, Qingshu Lu, Francesca Leek, Philip Kwan, Hiromi W L Koh, James Molton, Lalaine Mortera, Sullian Naval, Zamzurina Abu Bakar, Yong-Kek Pang, Lionel Lum, Tow Keang Lim, Gail B Cross, Ganesh Lekurwale, Hyungwon Choi, Veonice Au, John Connolly, Martin Hibberd, Justin A Green
BACKGROUND: Interleukin-4 (IL-4), increased in tuberculosis infection, may impair bacterial killing. Blocking IL-4 confers benefit in animal models. We evaluated safety and efficacy of pascolizumab (humanised anti-IL-4 monoclonal antibody) as adjunctive tuberculosis treatment. METHODS: Participants with rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis received a single intravenous infusion of pascolizumab or placebo; and standard 6-month tuberculosis treatment. Pascolizumab dose increased in successive cohorts: [1] non-randomised 0...
March 25, 2024: Journal of Infectious Diseases