Pomalidomide for the Treatment of Bleeding in HHT

HHT is associated with substantial morbidity, leading to a reduced quality of life, decreased rate of employment and a high incidence of depression. There currently exists no medical therapy recognized as consistently efficacious in HHT. Reports of the efficacy of thalidomide in HHT, as well as interim results of a pilot trial of pomalidomide in HHT provide evidence of efficacy with minimal toxicity. The favorable efficacy:toxicity ratio of pomalidomide suggest that it may benefit patients with HHT. This study is designed as a Phase II placebo-controlled double-blind study of pomalidomide in HHT patients with moderate to severe epistaxis who have anemia and/or require parenteral iron infusions or blood transfusions. A total of 159 patients will be randomized 2:1 to treatment with oral pomalidomide or matching placebo for 24 weeks. Primary Objective: To determine efficacy of pomalidomide compared to placebo for the reduction in severity of epistaxis after 24 weeks of treatment. Secondary Objectives: To determine the safety and tolerability of pomalidomide for the treatment of HHT; to determine if pomalidomide treatment improves quality of life in HHT; to determine whether a continued response to pomalidomide is evident 4 weeks after treatment discontinuation; to develop a biorepository for future studies to define biomarkers predictive of pomalidomide response and allow investigations into the biology of HHT and mechanisms of pomalidomide.