Tenecteplase Versus Alteplase in Acute Ischemic Stroke in Chinese Patients: Protocol for the ORIGINAL Study

Tenecteplase, a bioengineered variant of alteplase, is a new alternative thrombolytic agent. The ORIGINAL study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tenecteplase versus standard care in Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. This is a multicenter phase III study that employs a randomized (1:1), active‐controlled, parallel‐group, prospective, open‐label, blinded–end point design. Adult participants (aged ≥18 years) with acute ischemic stroke who are eligible for intravenous thrombolysis within 4.5 hours of symptom onset according to current guideline recommendations are recruited from ≈55 neurology clinics/stroke centers throughout China. The primary objective of the ORIGINAL study is to demonstrate the noninferiority of tenecteplase (0.25 mg/kg) to alteplase (0.9 mg/kg) on the basis of the proportion of patients who achieve a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 or 1 on day 90, that is, a favorable functional outcome. The prespecified noninferiority risk ratio margin is 0.937. Secondary end points include other functional outcomes and the following safety end points: adjudicated symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (up to 36 hours after the end of study drug administration) based on the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study III definition; all‐cause death within 90 days; and the proportion of patients with a modified Rankin Scale score of 5 or 6 on day 90. It is anticipated that the results of this study will contribute to the growing body of evidence for the noninferiority of tenecteplase to alteplase given within 4.5 hours of acute ischemic stroke symptom onset and support a new indication for tenecteplase in China. NCT04915729 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04915729 )