{"title":"Prospective Study of Treatment with Ensitrelvir for COVID-19 in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis (PROTECT-HD).","authors":"Mineaki Kitamura, Takahiro Takazono, Naoki Hosogaya, Shimpei Morimoto, Masahiro Kinoshita, Eriko Hamada, Ryosuke Shimizu, Shogo Miyazawa, Shintaro Tanaka, Tomoya Nishino, Hiroshi Mukae","doi":"10.1007/s40121-026-01327-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Patients on hemodialysis (HD) are vulnerable to COVID-19 and often excluded from pivotal antiviral trials. Ensitrelvir, an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor approved in Japan, remains unevaluated in patients undergoing HD. This study assesses the pharmacokinetics, antiviral activity, safety, and clinical effectiveness of ensitrelvir in participants with mild COVID-19 undergoing HD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this prospective, single-arm, open-label study (December 2024-April 2025), participants with mild COVID-19 undergoing HD received ensitrelvir 375 mg on Day 1, followed by 125 mg once daily on Days 2-5. On Visit 2 (Day 3), plasma ensitrelvir concentrations were measured at three time points prior to ensitrelvir administration-before, during, and after dialysis. On Visit 3 (Day 5), blood samples were collected after dialysis and prior to ensitrelvir administration. Clinical outcomes, body temperature, SARS-CoV-2 viral load, and viral titers were monitored through Day 8. The primary endpoint was plasma concentration of ensitrelvir relative to dialysis; secondary endpoints included clinical outcomes, body temperature, and changes in viral load.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eight participants were evaluated: mean age, 68.1 years; mean body weight, 58.0 kg; and mean body mass index, 24.1 kg/m<sup>2</sup>. Plasma ensitrelvir concentrations (geometric mean) remained stable, with similar levels before (18.0 µg/mL) and after dialysis (16.4 µg/mL). All participants were judged clinically effective by the investigator by Day 8. Body temperature normalized within 16.6-48.0 h in four participants, and in one participant after 59.2 h. SARS-CoV-2 viral load (mean ± standard deviation) declined by 2.85 ± 1.52 log<sub>10</sub> copies/mL from baseline to Day 8. No treatment-emergent adverse events, hospitalizations, or severe COVID-19-related complications occurred.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>No dose adjustment was required regardless of HD. In participants with mild COVID-19 undergoing HD, plasma ensitrelvir concentrations were similar to those previously reported in healthy individuals. Ensitrelvir showed favorable antiviral and clinical responses, supporting its safe use without dose adjustments.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Japan Registry of Clinical Trials ID: jRCTs071240069.</p>","PeriodicalId":13592,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases and Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"1451-1466"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13129023/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Infectious Diseases and Therapy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40121-026-01327-2","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/4/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Patients on hemodialysis (HD) are vulnerable to COVID-19 and often excluded from pivotal antiviral trials. Ensitrelvir, an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor approved in Japan, remains unevaluated in patients undergoing HD. This study assesses the pharmacokinetics, antiviral activity, safety, and clinical effectiveness of ensitrelvir in participants with mild COVID-19 undergoing HD.
Methods: In this prospective, single-arm, open-label study (December 2024-April 2025), participants with mild COVID-19 undergoing HD received ensitrelvir 375 mg on Day 1, followed by 125 mg once daily on Days 2-5. On Visit 2 (Day 3), plasma ensitrelvir concentrations were measured at three time points prior to ensitrelvir administration-before, during, and after dialysis. On Visit 3 (Day 5), blood samples were collected after dialysis and prior to ensitrelvir administration. Clinical outcomes, body temperature, SARS-CoV-2 viral load, and viral titers were monitored through Day 8. The primary endpoint was plasma concentration of ensitrelvir relative to dialysis; secondary endpoints included clinical outcomes, body temperature, and changes in viral load.
Results: Eight participants were evaluated: mean age, 68.1 years; mean body weight, 58.0 kg; and mean body mass index, 24.1 kg/m2. Plasma ensitrelvir concentrations (geometric mean) remained stable, with similar levels before (18.0 µg/mL) and after dialysis (16.4 µg/mL). All participants were judged clinically effective by the investigator by Day 8. Body temperature normalized within 16.6-48.0 h in four participants, and in one participant after 59.2 h. SARS-CoV-2 viral load (mean ± standard deviation) declined by 2.85 ± 1.52 log10 copies/mL from baseline to Day 8. No treatment-emergent adverse events, hospitalizations, or severe COVID-19-related complications occurred.
Conclusion: No dose adjustment was required regardless of HD. In participants with mild COVID-19 undergoing HD, plasma ensitrelvir concentrations were similar to those previously reported in healthy individuals. Ensitrelvir showed favorable antiviral and clinical responses, supporting its safe use without dose adjustments.
Trial registration: Japan Registry of Clinical Trials ID: jRCTs071240069.
期刊介绍:
Infectious Diseases and Therapy is an international, open access, peer-reviewed, rapid publication journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality clinical (all phases), observational, real-world, and health outcomes research around the discovery, development, and use of infectious disease therapies and interventions, including vaccines and devices. Studies relating to diagnostic products and diagnosis, pharmacoeconomics, public health, epidemiology, quality of life, and patient care, management, and education are also encouraged.
Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, bacterial and fungal infections, viral infections (including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis), parasitological diseases, tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases, vaccinations and other interventions, and drug-resistance, chronic infections, epidemiology and tropical, emergent, pediatric, dermal and sexually-transmitted diseases.