Tests atorvastatin with standard drugs in people with pulmonary tuberculosis

Trial details

Who runs it

Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital

Trial code

NCT06199921

Record updated

25 September 2025

Original description

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by mycobacterial organism. It is the leading infectious disease cause of death globally. According to recent estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), over 10 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths from TB occurred in 2021. The vast majority of TB cases and TB deaths are in developing countries. Nigeria has the highest TB burden in Africa with a high number of undetected TB cases as well. The spread of HIV has fueled the TB epidemic, and TB is the leading cause of death among patients infected with HIV and has assumed the lead position as the number one infectious disease cause of death globally. Even though the COVID-19 was associated with a huge mortality, TB contributed significantly to death and one of the single predictors of death among COVID-19 infected individuals. TB predominantly affects young adults in their most productive years of life and has substantial impact on economic development.Read full original descriptionShow less

Atorvastatin-containing Treatment Regimens for Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Randomized, Open-label, Controlled phase2C/3 Clinical Trial

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by mycobacterial organism. It is the leading infectious disease cause of death globally. According to recent estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), over 10 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths from TB occurred in 2021. The vast majority of TB cases and TB deaths are in developing countries. Nigeria has the highest TB burden in Africa with a high number of undetected TB cases as well. The spread of HIV has fueled the TB epidemic, and TB is the leading cause of death among patients infected with HIV and has assumed the lead position as the number one infectious disease cause of death globally. Even though the COVID-19 was associated with a huge mortality, TB contributed significantly to death and one of the single predictors of death among COVID-19 infected individuals. TB predominantly affects young adults in their most productive years of life and has substantial impact on economic development.

Emerging evidence has shown that lipid lowering drugs like statins can make the TB bacteria more susceptible to current treatment regimen. The ATORTUB group recently completed Phase II A and Phase IIB studies to assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of atorvastatin when administered with the current standard of care. The investigators demonstrated that atorvastatin is well tolerated, save, and has beneficial microbiological and radiological impacts in tuberculosis, thus, warrants further studies.

This phase IIC trial sets out to evaluate the safety and efficacy of different doses of atorvastatin containing regimen, determine rate of decline of viable sputum bacilli, the time to stable sputum conversion, improvement in chest ray severity scores and lung function parameters post randomization in the different treatment arms. The phase II C is a Selection Trial with Extended follow-up STEP and has been devised as a pilot phase III where patients are studied for longer period (12months post randomization) than the usual phase IIB. Thus, providing additional data that will justify a successful phase III trial.

Inclusion: Individuals must meet all the following inclusion criteria in order to participate in this study:; Suspected pulmonary tuberculosis plus one or both of the following: a) at least one sputum specimen positive for acid-fast bacilli on smear microscopy OR b) at least one sputum specimen positive for M. tuberculosis by Xpert MTB/RIF testing, with semiquantitative result of 'medium' or 'high' and rifampicin resistance not detected; Treatment naive; Age twelve years or older; A verifiable address or residence location that is readily accessible for visiting, and willingness to inform the study team of any change of address during the treatment and follow-up period; Documented HIV infection status; Documented blood sugar level/ Diabetes; For HIV-positive individuals, CD4 T cell count greater than or equal to 100 cells/mm3 based on testing performed at or within 30 days prior to screening; Laboratory parameters done at or within 14 days prior to screening:; Serum or plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) less than or equal to 3 times the upper limit of normal; Serum or plasma total bilirubin less than or equal to 2.5 times the upper limit of normal; Serum or plasma creatinine level less than or equal to 2 times the upper limit of normal; Serum or plasma potassium level greater than or equal to 3.5 meq/L; Hemoglobin level of 7.0 g/dL or greater; Platelet count of 100,000/mm3 or greater; For women of childbearing potential, a negative pregnancy test at or within seven (7) days prior to screening; Written informed consent.

Exclusion: Individuals with any of the following exclusion criteria at the time of enrollment or initiation of study drugs will be excluded; Unable to take oral medications; Those already on treatment for tuberculosis; Known allergy or intolerance to any of the study medications; Individuals will be excluded from enrollment if, at the time of enrollment, their M. tuberculosis isolate is already known to be resistant to any one or more of the following: rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide,or ethambutol,; .Evidence of clinically significant metabolic or co morbid medical conditions ; malignancy; or other diseases like history of or current cardiovascular disorder such as heart failure, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia; Screening, baseline, and Week 2 study visit sputum cultures all fail to grow M. tuberculosis; M. tuberculosis cultured or detected through molecular assays (Cepheid Xpert MTB/RIF or Hain MTBDRplus assays) from sputum obtained around the time of study entry is determined to be resistant to one or more of isoniazid, rifampin, or fluoroquinolones; Known or family history of bleeding disorders. I. Any renal impairment characterized by serum creatinine clearance of 1.5 x upper limit of normal of the clinical laboratory reference range at screening; Myositis and or Creatinine phosphokinase three times upper limit of normal K. Other medical conditions, that, in the investigator's judgment, make study participation not in the individual's best interest; Criteria for Exclusion after Enrollment ('Late Exclusion'); Microbiological confirmation of drug-susceptible tuberculosis is not expected always to be available at the time of enrollment. Enrolled individuals who are subsequently determined to meet either of the following criteria will be classified as 'late exclusions' and study treatment will be discontinued:; Pregnant or breast-feeding; Weight less than 40.0 kg.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06199921