Funding terminated

To find out if vancomycin is a safe and effective therapy for primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Funding Source - FDA OOPD

A. Determine if OV normalizes serum ALP in adults with PSC. Levels of serum ALP obtained at 6,12,and 18 months of OV treatment, and at 3, and 6 months post OV treatment will be compared to those obtained at baseline (month 0), and with values at the same study time points in the placebo arm.

B. Determine if OV stabilizes or improves liver fibrosis assessed by LSM using TE. Liver stiffness will be measured at 6, 12, and 18 months of OV treatment, and at 6 months post OV treatment, and values will be compared to those obtained at baseline (month 0), and with values in the placebo arm.

C. Determine the changes in the intestinal microbiota in relation to the use of OV, and study the correlation between the changes in the intestinal microbiota and the changes in: 1) liver enzymes, particularly serum ALP, and 2) liver stiffness, assessed by LSM using TE.

D. Determine if changes in proinflammatory cytokines (TGF-β, IL-4, IL-13, IL-10, etc.) predict response to OV. Cytokines will be measured at baseline, months 6, 12, 18, and at 3, and 6 months post OV treatment, if the study is positive.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male or female subject age 18-76 years
2. Diagnosis of PSC consistent with the guidelines published by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).39 All subjects must have an elevated serum ALP of at least 1.5 times upper limit of normal at baseline plus cholangiographic evidence of PSC, as demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, direct cholangiography, or liver biopsy.
3. Total bilirubin at screening must be ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal
4. An ultrasound (or equivalent imaging modality) that excludes biliary obstruction and malignancy within 6 months of study entry,
5. If a patient is on any of the following medications and/or supplements, he or she is expected to remain on the same daily dose through the treatment period: UDCA, azathioprine, prednisone (or an equivalent steroid compound), methotrexate, a 5-aminosalicylic acid, biologic therapy, and/or a probiotic.
6. If a patient has been on obeticholic acid or other experimental therapies for PSC, they must complete a 3 month washout period before study entry
7. PSC with or without inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease
8. Must agree to comply with the study protocol and provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Administration of an antibiotic within 3 months prior to the study,

2. Pregnancy or attempting to become pregnant or breastfeeding,

3. Presence of any of the following:

   i. Hepatitis B infection

   ii. Hepatitis C infection (antibody positive); patients with a history of hepatitis C infection will be eligible for this study if they have undetectable levels of HCV RNA

   iii. Other cholestatic liver diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis and cholestatic diseases of pregnancy

   iv. Metabolic liver diseases such as Wilson's disease and hemochromatosis

   v. Inherited diseases of the liver such as α-1 antitrypsin deficiency

   vi. Immunoglobulin G4-related cholangitis

   vii. PSC with concomitant autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and/or primary biliary cholangitis (previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis)

   viii. Secondary sclerosing cholangitis (SSC),

   ix. Active acute ascending cholangitis requiring antibiotics

   x. CCA (malignant biliary stricture, neoplasm, and cytology/histopathology or positive fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) consistent with adenocarcinoma of the bile duct)

   xi. A liver biopsy, if one has been previously obtained, which showed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Patients with suspected fatty liver by imaging will not be excluded

   xii. Presence of decompensated cirrhosis such as hepatic encephalopathy, hepato-renal syndrome and hepato-pulmonary syndrome,

   xiii. History of liver transplantation, anticipated need for liver transplantation within 12 months from randomization, or a Model of End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score of ≥15

   xiv. Ongoing alcohol abuse (>4 drinks per day for men, and >2 drinks per day for women)

   xv. History of allergic reaction to vancomycin,

   xvi. Moderate-to-severe renal impairment with a calculated creatinine clearance of < 60mL/min

   xvii. HIV/AIDS,

   xviii. Any other conditions or abnormalities that, in the opinion of the investigator, may compromise the safety of the subject or interfere with the subject participating in or completing the study.

Adverse events were monitored by patient contact every 3 months with the study coordinator and physician visits every 6 months from the time of enrolment until the end of follow-up (24 months). Additionally, patients were instructed to contact the study coordinator immediately when adverse events occurred.

This study has several limitations. First, the trial was limited by patient withdrawal and early termination due to slowed recruitment. Second, given the sample size the subgroup analyses should be considered hypothesis generating. Third, there is a lack of validated surrogate endpoints for PSC.