Heart Spare the Nephron (STN) Study - A Study of CellCept (Mycophenolate Mofetil) and Rapamune (Sirolimus) in Heart Transplant Recipients

A Randomized, Open-label Study of the Effect of Replacing CNI With Sirolimus in a Standard Care Regimen of CNI, CellCept, and Steroids on Renal Function in Heart Transplant Patients

Heart transplant patients on a standard care regimen of CNI, MMF, and corticosteroids will enter the study 4-6 weeks post-transplant. At 3 months after transplant, patients will be randomized to either continue this regimen or CNI therapy will be discontinued and replaced by sirolimus therapy (in combination with MMF and corticosteroids). The effect of these 2 regimens on efficacy, safety and renal function will be evaluated.The anticipated time on study treatment is 1-2 years and the target sample size is 500+ individuals.

Inclusion Criteria:

• adult (>=18 years of age) heart transplant patients (4-6 weeks post-transplant);
• receipt of first heart (single-organ) transplant;
• standard care regimen of CNI, MMF, and corticosteroids since transplantation.

Exclusion Criteria:

• positive donor-specific cross-match at time of transplantation;
• history of malignancies, other than non-melanoma skin cancer that has been totally excised with no recurrence for 2 years;
• patients participating in another interventional clinical trial or requiring treatment with unmarketed investigational drugs.