EPOS-1

Despite tremendous research efforts during the last years, there is to date no therapy that specifically treats the underlying organ dysfunction in sepsis. It has recently been shown that low-dose epirubicin, a drug that has been used in cancer therapy for over 30 years, reduces sepsis mortality by limiting organ damage in animal models acting via enforcing disease tolerance to infection.

EPOS-1 is investigating this effect in septic patients. It is a randomized, controlled, double-blind, phase 2 escalation study. The primary aim of this study is to demonstrate safety and tolerability of a low dose of epirubicin in sepsis patients. This study is a completely new therapeutic approach and the first study to therapeutically address disease tolerance mechanisms in sepsis.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05033808

Publications

Thomas-Rüddel D, Bauer M, Moita LF, Helbig C, Schlattmann P, Ehler J, Rahmel T, Meybohm P, Gründling M, Schenk H, Köcher T, Brunkhorst FM, Gräler M, Heger AJ, Weis S (2024) Epirubicin for the Treatment of Sepsis and Septic Shock (EPOS-1): study protocol for a randomised, placebo-controlled phase IIa dose-escalation trial. BMJ Open 14(4), e075158.

Funding

EPOS-1 is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) grant 01EN2001.