Santersus: First clinical trial on patients with sepsis and sepsis-associated acute kidney injuries

Santersus AG (Switzerland), a privately held selective plasmapheresis start-up company, today announces that the first patient has been recruited to open non-randomized controlled trial. The study investigates the removal of circulating Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) from blood by NucleoCapture device and a efficacy and safety of the treatment of patients with sepsis and sepsis-associated AKI.

The term "sepsis" refers to a clinical syndrome in which a dysregulation of the host's inflammatory reaction to infection leads to a life-threatening of organ dysfunctions. Sepsis and septic shock are major causes of death in intensive care units worldwide. Sepsis remains the most important cause of AKI in the intensive care unit (ICU) with 15%-20% of patients with sepsis-associated AKI (SA-AKI) prescribed RRT. In addition to association with short term mortality, AKI is also linked to the later development of CKD, ESRD, and long-term increased risk of death.

NETosis is a unique form of neutrophil cell death that is characterized by the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) composed of DNA web-like structures decorated with highly cytotoxic protein components. Release of NETs leads to bystander tissue damage (including the kidneys) and drives a fatal course of disease in sepsis patients.

The plasmapheresis is a medical procedure, where pathogenic components are being removed from the blood by adsorbers outside the body in an extracorporeal circulation. For removal of the pathogenic substances the plasma is separated from the blood to pass the adsorber. The purified plasma is merged with the solid blood components thereafter and returned to the patient. The NucleoCapture device provide highly selective removal of neutrophil extracellular traps from human blood during plasmapheresis procedure.

“We are excited to get the NucleoCapture trial underway. We have designed a robust clinical development programme evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the technology,” said Andrew Aswani, the Chief Medical Officer of Santersus AG.