Recruiting
Phase 2

Cytisinicline

Sponsor:

UCLA

Code:

NCT06617312

Conditions

Smoking Cessation

Tobacco Use Disorder

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Cytisinicline

Placebo Oral Capsule

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will randomize 64 non-treatment seeking individuals who smoke cigarettes daily in a double-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory study testing the effects of cytisinicline on the neural substrates of cigarette cue reactivity.

Conditions

Smoking Cessation

Tobacco Use Disorder

Study ID

NCT06617312

Start date

Dec 5, 2024

Status verified date

Nov, 2025

Completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. be between the ages of 18 and 65 and provide informed consent;
2. smoke 5 or more combustible cigarettes per day;
3. not seeking treatment for smoking;

Exclusion Criteria:

1. current use of other smoking cessation aid (bupropion, varenicline, nortriptyline, NRT);
2. more than 3 months of smoking abstinence in past year;
3. use of non-cigarette tobacco product (pipe tobacco, cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookah) or electronic cigarettes more than 5 times in the 28-days prior to enrollment;
4. current use of psychoactive drug (excluding cannabis), as determined by urine toxicology;
5. current (past 12-month) DSM-5 diagnosis of substance use disorder for any substances other than tobacco and mild cannabis or mild-to-moderate alcohol use disorders;
6. lifetime history of psychotic disorders, bipolar disorders, or major depression with suicidal ideation;
7. current suicidal ideation or lifetime history of suicide attempt;
8. serious medical illness within past 3 months, including recent history of acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke, cerebrovascular incident, or hospitalization for congestive heart failure;
9. medical condition that may interfere with safe study participation;
10. renal impairment defined as a creatinine clearance (CrCl) greater than 60 mL/min (estimated with the Cockroft-Gault equation);
11. exceed Grade 2 laboratory abnormalities, based on FDA Guidance Document "Toxicity Grading Scale for Healthy Adult and Adolescent Volunteers Enrolled in Preventive Vaccine Clinical Trials";
12. uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure ≥160/100 mmHg);
13. abnormal electrocardiogram;
14. non-removable ferromagnetic object in body;
15. claustrophobia;
16. serious head injury or period of unconsciousness (more than 30 minutes);
17. more than 250lbs;
18. Be pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant while taking part in the study; and must agree to one of the following methods of birth control (if female), unless she or partner are surgically sterile:

  • Oral contraceptives
  • Contraceptive sponge
  • Patch
  • Double barrier
  • Intrauterine contraceptive device
  • Etonogestrel implant
  • Medroxyprogesterone acetate contraceptive injection
  • Hormonal vaginal contraceptive ring
  • Complete abstinence from sexual intercourse;
19. have experienced adverse effects to varenicline;
20. have an intense fear of needles or have had an adverse reaction to needle puncture.

Study Design

Enrollment

64 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Cytisinicline

3mg cytisinicline oral capsule 3 times daily for 2-to-3 weeks

placebo comparator: Placebo

matched to experimental drug

Interventions

Cytisinicline

Targets α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Placebo Oral Capsule

Matched to active drug, cytisinicline

Primary outcome measure

  • Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation to cigarette cues during fMRI task [ Time Frame: From enrollment to end of treatment at 2-to-3 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

University of California Los Angeles

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90049

Contacts

More Information

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Last update posted

Dec 3, 2025

Last verified

Nov, 2025

Keywords

  • smoking cesstion
  • tobacco use disorder
  • cigarette smoking
  • fMRI
  • cytisinicline

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-11. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of California, Los Angeles on 2025-12-03.