Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis reports that use of anakinra improves by 64% treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (SobiTM) (STO:SOBI) and the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis yesterday announced positive top line results from the Investigator-sponsored SAVE-MORE study, which assessed the effect of anakinra in moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients. Early and targeted use of anakinra in addition to current standard of care in hospitalised patients with poor prognosis prevented either death or progression to severe respiratory failure, whilst increasing the number of patients who were discharged from hospital with no evidence of COVID-19 infection.

SAVE-MORE is a large, randomised controlled trial in over 600 hospitalised patients that specifically identifies those at risk of severe respiratory failure by the measurement of elevated suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor), a plasma biomarker that reflects immune activation and has been previously associated with poor prognosis in a number of conditions. The study is sponsored by the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS) in Greece and led by its President and Chairman, Professor Evangelos J. Giamarellos-Bourboulis. Giamarellos-Bourboulis is Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, President of the European Shock Society and Chairman of the European Sepsis Alliance. Sobi intends to discuss these results with regulatory authorities to evaluate the possibility of approval.

“This is the first study to specifically evaluate an at-risk patient population before admission to intensive care unit (ICU). The results provide a significant step forward in the search for additional treatment options to prevent progression to a more critical state,” said Professor Giamarellos-Bourboulis. “My thanks go to the many patients and clinicians who have contributed across Italy and Greece.”