Clinical trial to test treatments for acute respiratory distress syndrome awarded $2.3M MRFF Clinical Trials Activity grant
Credit: Yuriy
A clinical trial applying precision medicine to test pharmacological therapies for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome has received a $2.3M Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) 2024 Clinical Trials Activity grant.
Led by Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor Aidan Burrell, the precision medicine Adaptive Network Platform Trial in Hypoxemic acute respiratory failure (‘PANTHER’) is an international collaboration within a multi-platform Phase 2 randomised control trial applying precision medicine to test pharmacological therapies for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS.)
ARDS can affect mechanically-ventilated patients in intensive care. Due to inflammation, these patients can develop fluid leakage into the lungs, often leading to lung failure, which carries a very high risk of death. There are currently no effective drug treatments to prevent ARDS.
Distinct hyper- and hypo-inflammatory phenotypes of ARDS can be identified based on plasma biomarker profiles. ARDS phenotypes demonstrate differential responses to specific interventions. Until recently, phenotype identification was only possible after the clinical encounter. However, timely identification of ARDS phenotypes is now feasible using point-of-care tests.
The research team aims to test whether the addition of targeted pharmacological interventions in patients with ARDS – initially simvastatin or baractinib – reduces the risk of death or the duration of organ support at 28 days, compared to usual care alone, in hyper-inflammatory or hypo-inflammatory phenotypes.
Patients will be stratified to the hyper-inflammatory or hypo-inflammatory phenotype using a validated point-of-care test. Up to 200 patients from 14 Australian intensive care units will be included in the trial and will be randomised to simvastatin, baricitinib, or usual care.
The research team includes collaborators from Monash University, Empiric Health, The University of Queensland, The George Institute for Global Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Western Australia, Randox Laboratories and UK colleagues funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Associate Professor Burrell said he was very pleased to receive the Clinical Trials Activity grant. “For the first time, the PANTHER trial will bring a precision medicine approach to investigating new therapies in acute respiratory distress syndrome.” he said. “We believe this approach will rapidly lead to improved treatments, and ultimately will improve the health outcomes for patients in intensive care with this syndrome.”
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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