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NCT04930744CompletedPhase 2

Safety and Tolerability of Metformin in People With Tuberculosis (TB) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

A Prospective, Randomized Open-Label Phase II Study of the Safety and Tolerability of Metformin in Combination With Standard Antimicrobial Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in People Co-infected With HIV

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 6 Aug 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

The METHOD study will examine whether adding metformin to standard antibiotic treatment for tuberculosis (TB) in people with HIV is safe and well tolerated. The study will also test if adding metformin clears the infection more quickly and with less lung damage. When enrolled, participants will have an equal chance of being in the group that takes standard TB medicines alone or in the group that also takes metformin. Participants will have a chance to be put on either: 1) standard TB medicines (isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide for two months, continuing isoniazid and rifampin for four more months) only; or 2) the same standard TB medicines plus metformin. Participants randomized to the metformin arm will take metformin for eleven weeks, starting one week after starting the standard TB medicines. In addition to monitoring for side effects, all participants will have studies of drug levels and lung and immune function.

Status (registry)
Completed
Phase (registry)
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
112 (actual)
First submitted
26 May 2021
Start date
4 Mar 2022
Primary completion date
29 Apr 2025
Lead sponsor
University of Massachusetts, Worcester
Diseases
Tuberculosis, HIV
NCT number
NCT04930744

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional · Phase 2
  • Participants enrolled: 112
  • From 4 Mar 2022 to the primary completion date, 29 Apr 2025
  • 2 sites in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Prior treatment

  • Resistance to any first-line ATT drug demonstrated by susceptibility testing.
  • More than 14 days ATT for the current episode of TB, prior to enrollment.
  • Use of metformin within 1 year prior to enrollment.

Other illness

  • Any condition for which participation in the trial, as judged by the investigator, could compromise the well-being of the participant or prevent, limit or confound protocol-specified assessments.
  • History of congestive heart failure, chronic liver disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease or malignancy.
  • History of sensitivity to metformin.
  • Hepatitis B surface antigen positive.
  • Diagnosis of active Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the time of screening or high suspicion of active COVID-19 disease during screening.

Lab values

  • History of diabetes mellitus or fasting blood glucose \>7.0 mmol/L on screening evaluation.
  • Acute or chronic metabolic acidosis based on reported medical history or laboratory tests performed on screening.
  • Peripheral blood CD4 + T cell count \<50 cells/mm\^3 on screening evaluation.
  • Hemoglobin \<9 g/dL for males, and \<8 g/dL (women) for females on screening evaluation.
  • Platelet count \<50,000/mm\^3 on screening evaluation.
  • Absolute neutrophil count \<750 cells/mm\^3 on screening evaluation.
  • Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) \<60 mL/min/1.73m\^2 calculated by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation.
  • Serum bicarbonate \<18 mmol/L on screening evaluation.
  • Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) or Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) ≥3 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) on screening evaluation.

Other

  • Is critically ill, and in the judgment of the investigator has a diagnosis likely to result in death during the trial or the follow-up period.
  • TB meningitis or other forms of severe TB with high risk of a poor outcome as judged by the investigator.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • Taking any fluoroquinolone antibiotic.
  • Consumption of \>28 units (men) OR \>21 units (women) of alcohol/week.
  • Body mass index (BMI) \<17kg/m\^2 on screening evaluation.
  • Enrollment in another interventional study at any time during participation in the METHOD trial.
  • Imprisonment at the time of or after enrollment in the METHOD trial.

Who the study is looking for

  • Age 18 through 65 years.
  • HIV-1 seropositive status prior to or after screening.
  • Chest radiograph compatible with pulmonary TB.
  • Positive sputum Xpert MTB/RIF or Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra with one cycle threshold (Ct) \<25 or subsequent culture confirmation.
  • RIF susceptibility diagnosed by an approved TB diagnostic test e.g. Xpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid), Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Cepheid) or BD MAX (Becton-Dickinson).
  • Residence within study catchment area.
  • If female of childbearing potential, willing to use contraception for the duration of study participation (Criteria for childbearing potential and for acceptable contraception). If male, willing to use condoms for the duration of metformin treatment plus 3 months after stopping metformin.
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent.

Age in the registry: 18 years to 65 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (2)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
Tembisa Clinical Research Centre-The Aurum Institute
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
JohannesburgSouth AfricaUnknown status
Isango Lethemba TB Research Unit
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
Port ElizabethSouth AfricaUnknown status

Related publications

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.