Biotest announced that the first patient with sCAP has been treated in the phase III ESsCAPE trial in an intensive care unit. This multinational phase III clinical trial is expected to enrol approximately 590 adult patients with severe Community Acquired Pneumonia (sCAP). The ESsCAPE trial will be conducted in up to 20 countries worldwide and patients will receive either trimodulin or placebo as add-on therapy to standard of care.

Severe CAP is a life-threatening condition. Patients must be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) and often receive oxygen through invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). These patients often develop additional critical illnesses such as sepsis, septic shock, and multiple organ dysfunction or failure.

Despite existing treatment options, mortality in these patients remains high. The clinical concept of this prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial, was developed based on the promising results of the previous phase II clinical trial (CIGMA) in 160 sCAP patients requiring IMV. In the CIGMA trial a subgroup of patients with evidence of severe inflammation showed an encouraging reduction in the mortality rate when treated with trimodulin.

Biotest's development product trimodulin is a globally unique, innovative polyvalent IgM, IgA, IgG antibody composition, purified from human plasma. In addition to clinical development for sCAP, trimodulin is also currently in development for the treatment of COVID-19. Biotest's development products trimodulin is an innovative polyvalent antibody composition, purified from human Plasma.

In comparison to standard IgG preparations (IVIG), trimodulin contains relevant amounts of IgM and IgA in addition to IgG. Trimodulin is currently in clinical development for the treatment of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (sCAP) and for patients with moderate or severe COVID-19. Research so far has shown that trimodulin could intervene with a number of mechanisms involved in pathological processes that would otherwise lead to respiratory failure, sepsis, multi-organ failure and finally to death of the patient.

Due to the large variety of polyvalent antibodies present in trimodulin, the impaired immune system is supported in various ways. The antibodies bind to various types of pathogens including viruses and bacteria as well as their toxins and support their clearance by the immune system. Particularly the IgM component in trimodulin can reduce dysregulated immune responses, preventing the immune system to attack host tissues, in this case, the lung.

In this way, trimodulin may prevent progression of disease, including the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and other intensive care procedures, and finally death. Severe community acquired pneumonia (sCAP) is usually defined as pneumonia acquired outside the hospital that requires intensive medical care. mortality of sCAP patients admitted to the intensive care unit is high and has not improved much in recent years.