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Desmarets M, Hoffmann S, Vauchy C, Rijnders BJA, Toussirot E, Durrbach A, Körper S, Schrezenmeier E, van der Schoot CE, Harvala H, Brunotte G, Appl T, Seifried E, Tiberghien P, Bradshaw D, Roberts DJ, Estcourt LJ, Schrezenmeier H. Early, very high-titre convalescent plasma therapy in clinically vulnerable individuals with mild COVID-19 (COVIC-19): protocol for a randomised, open-label trial. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e071277. [PMID: 37105693 PMCID: PMC10151238 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) is a possible treatment option for COVID-19. A comprehensive number of clinical trials on CCP efficacy have already been conducted. However, many aspects of CCP treatment still require investigations: in particular (1) Optimisation of the CCP product, (2) Identification of the patient population in need and most likely to benefit from this treatment approach, (3) Timing of administration and (4) CCP efficacy across viral variants in vivo. We aimed to test whether high-titre CCP, administered early, is efficacious in preventing hospitalisation or death in high-risk patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS COVIC-19 is a multicentre, randomised, open-label, adaptive superiority phase III trial comparing CCP with very high neutralising antibody titre administered within 7 days of symptom onset plus standard of care versus standard of care alone. We will enrol patients in two cohorts of vulnerable patients [(1) elderly 70+ years, or younger with comorbidities; (2) immunocompromised patients]. Up to 1020 participants will be enrolled in each cohort (at least 340 with a sample size re-estimation after reaching 102 patients). The primary endpoint is the proportion of participants with (1) Hospitalisation due to progressive COVID-19, or (2) Who died by day 28 after randomisation. Principal analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval has been granted by the University of Ulm ethics committee (#41/22) (lead ethics committee for Germany), Comité de protection des personnes Sud-Est I (CPP Sud-Est I) (#2022-A01307-36) (ethics committee for France), and ErasmusMC ethics committee (#MEC-2022-0365) (ethics committee for the Netherlands). Signed informed consent will be obtained from all included patients. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant stakeholder conferences and meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical Trials.gov (NCT05271929), EudraCT (2021-006621-22).
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Desmarets
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Inserm CIC1431, CHU Besançon, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
- UMR 1098 Right, Inserm, Établissement Français du Sang, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
| | - Simone Hoffmann
- Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, German Red Cross, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Charline Vauchy
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Inserm CIC1431, CHU Besançon, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
- UMR 1098 Right, Inserm, Établissement Français du Sang, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
| | - Bart J A Rijnders
- University Medical Center, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
| | - Eric Toussirot
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Inserm CIC1431, CHU Besançon, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
- UMR 1098 Right, Inserm, Établissement Français du Sang, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
| | - Antoine Durrbach
- Department of Nephrology, AP-HP Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, Île-de-France, France
| | - Sixten Körper
- Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, German Red Cross, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Eva Schrezenmeier
- Department of Nephrology and Medical Intensive Care, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - C Ellen van der Schoot
- Department of Experimental Immunohematology, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
| | - Heli Harvala
- Microbiology Services, NHS Blood and Transplant, Colindale, London, UK
| | - Gaëlle Brunotte
- Centre d'investigation clinique Inserm CIC1431, CHU Besançon, Besançon, France
| | - Thomas Appl
- Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, German Red Cross, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Erhard Seifried
- Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, German Red Cross, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Pierre Tiberghien
- UMR 1098 Right, Inserm, Établissement Français du Sang, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
- Etablissement Francais du Sang, La Plaine Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France
| | - Daniel Bradshaw
- Virus Reference Department, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
| | - David J Roberts
- NHS Blood and Transplant, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Lise J Estcourt
- NHS Blood and Transplant, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Hubert Schrezenmeier
- Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, German Red Cross, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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Schrezenmeier H, Hoffmann S, Hofmann H, Appl T, Jahrsdörfer B, Seifried E, Körper S. Immune Plasma for the Treatment of COVID-19: Lessons Learned so far. Hamostaseologie 2023; 43:67-74. [PMID: 36807822 DOI: 10.1055/a-1987-3682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been explored as one of the treatment options for COVID-19. Results of many cohort studies and clinical trials have been recently published. At first glance, the results of the CCP studies appear to be inconsistent. However, it became clear that CCP is not beneficial if CCP with low anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentrations is used, if it is administered late in advanced disease stages, and to patients who already mounted an antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 at the time of CCP transfusion. On the other hand, CCP may prevent progression to severe COVID-19 when very high-titer CCP is given early in vulnerable patients. Immune escape of new variants is a challenge for passive immunotherapy. While new variants of concern developed resistance to most clinically used monoclonal antibodies very rapidly, immune plasma from individuals immunized by both a natural SARS-CoV-2 infection and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination retained neutralizing activity against variants. This review briefly summarizes the evidence on CCP treatment to date and identifies further research needs. Ongoing research on passive immunotherapy is not only relevant for improving care for vulnerable patients in the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but even more as a model for passive immunotherapy in case of future pandemics with a newly evolving pathogen. Compared to other drugs, which must be newly developed in a pandemic (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, antiviral drugs), convalescent plasma is rapidly available, inexpensive to produce, and can be adaptive to viral evolution by selection of contemporary convalescent donors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hubert Schrezenmeier
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, and, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Simone Hoffmann
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, and, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Henrike Hofmann
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, and, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Thomas Appl
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, and, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Bernd Jahrsdörfer
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, and, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Erhard Seifried
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg - Hessen, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Sixten Körper
- Institute for Clinical Transfusion Medicine and Immunogenetics Ulm, German Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, and, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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