ViroGates and the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis have announced that the SAVE-MORE randomized controlled trial, which they sponsored, has yielded positive preliminary results. This trial, involving more than 600 patients, tested the effectiveness of early and targeted treatment with anakinra, guided by suPAR levels, for hospital patients at risk of severe outcomes.

The trial found that treating patients early with anakinra, based on elevated suPAR levels (above 6 ng/ml), in addition to standard care, effectively prevented death or the worsening of respiratory failure. It also increased the number of patients who recovered from COVID-19 and could leave the hospital.

SAVE-MORE, a multicenter, double-blind trial, targeted over 600 hospitalized patients likely to develop severe respiratory failure, identified through elevated suPAR levels, a marker of immune activation linked to poor outcomes in various conditions.

The Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS) in Greece sponsored the study, under the leadership of its President, Professor Evangelos J. Giamarellos-Bourboulis. Giamarellos-Bourboulis, a professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a prominent figure in sepsis research, also heads the European Shock Society and the European Sepsis Alliance.

The trial’s main finding at day 28 was a significant improvement in patients with high suPAR levels who received anakinra alongside standard care compared to those who received a placebo with standard care, as measured by the 11-point WHO Clinical Progression Scale (CPS). This was evident in reduced mortality and respiratory failure rates and increased discharges of recovered patients by day 14. ViroGates plans to discuss these findings with regulatory authorities.

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