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Therapeutic Use of Convalescent Plasma in the Treatment of Patients With Moderate to Severe COVID-19

A Prospective, Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blinded, Phase III Clinical Trial of the Therapeutic Use of Convalescent Plasma in the Treatment of Patients With Moderate to Severe COVID-19

Status
Terminated
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04516811
Enrollment
102
Registered
2020-08-18
Start date
2020-09-21
Completion date
2022-07-31
Last updated
2026-05-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

Brief summary

A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, phase III clinical trial of the therapeutic use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe COVID-19

Detailed description

Full Title: A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, phase III clinical trial of the therapeutic use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. Short Title: PROTECT-Patient study Aim: Assess the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) as a therapeutic treatment for hospitalised patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 Study Design: Randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, phase III clinical trial Intervention: Randomised 1:1 to either CCP plus standard of care (SOC) or to SOC plus placebo (200 mL normal saline) Active Agent: A single unit of approximately 200-250 mL of CCP that contains anti-SARS-CoV-2 collected by plasmapheresis from a volunteer who recovered from COVID19 with SOC as determined by local practice and guidelines. Placebo: A single unit of 200 mL normal saline with SOC as determined by local practice and guidelines Sample Size: 600 Study Population: Consenting adult inpatients with moderate to severe COVID-19, not requiring invasive ventilation, who are admitted to a participating public or private sector hospital and who are not enrolled in another COVID-19 treatment trial. Settings: Participating public and private sector hospitals in South Africa

Interventions

BIOLOGICALCOVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) plus standard of care (SOC)

A single unit of approximately 200-250 mL of CCP that contains anti-SARS-CoV-2 collected by plasmapheresis from a volunteer who recovered from COVID19 with SOC as determined by local practice and guidelines.

BIOLOGICALStandard of care (SOC) plus placebo

A single unit of 200 mL normal saline with SOC as determined by local practice and guidelines

Sponsors

South African National Blood Service
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Masking description

Neither participants nor the investigators will be aware of the participant's treatment allocation until the end of the study (double blinding). Blinding will be maintained by local blood bank preparing the appropriate IP and Placebo. Unmasking procedures are detailed by SOP

Intervention model description

Participant identification numbers (PIN), assigned at the screening/enrolment visit, will be used throughout the study. After signing the informed consent document, eligible participants will be randomised to one of the treatment arms, stratified by study site, age group (\<=65; \>65 years old) and body mass index (BMI) (\<30; \>=30 kg/m2). An electronic randomisation application will generate the treatment allocation. The trial Program Manager (PM), who will have no direct contact with trial participants or involvement in eligibility assessment or outcome assignment, will maintain the randomisation code.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 by positive RT-PCR on any respiratory sample; * Age ≥ 18 years; * Require hospital admission for COVID-19 pneumonia as defined by the presence of pulmonary infiltrates on chest x-ray; * Moderate to severe Covid-19 disease, defined as: SpO2 ≤ 93% on room air; plus requiring non-invasive oxygen therapy (WHO R\&D BOSCI 4 or 5 * Signed informed consent; * Pregnant women will be allowed to participate.

Exclusion criteria

* Current participation in another therapeutic clinical trial for COVID-19; * Invasive mechanical ventilation; * Expected survival \< 24 hours based on clinical assessment (however, the study does not exclude critically ill patients who are not, due to resource limitations, candidates for critical care admission and/or mechanical ventilation); * Known hypersensitivity to immunoglobulin or any components of the formulation;

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Clinical ImprovementDay 28Proportion of participants with successful treatment outcome, defined as clinical improvement (≥ 2 points on WHO R\&D BOSCI 1) by Day 28 post-randomisation.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Adverse Events of special interestDay 281\. Proportion of participants with adverse events of special interest (Transfusion-Associated Circulatory Overload (TACO); Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI); allergic transfusion reaction).
Serious Adverse EventsDay 282\. Proportion of participants with serious adverse events.
SurvivalDay 283\. Proportion of participants surviving at Day 28 post-randomisation.
Invasive mechanical ventilationDay 284\. Proportion of participants requiring invasive mechanical ventilation.
Disease severityDay 285\. Proportion of participants with moderate and severe ARDS.
Time to outcomes of interestDay286\. Time from randomization to death, clinical improvement, ICU admission, and invasive mechanical ventilation.
Length of stay meausuresDay287\. Duration of hospitalisation, ICU stay, and mechanical ventilation in survivors.
SARS-CoV PCRDay288\. Proportion negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR at Day 28; time to viral clearance (PCR-negativity); change in SARS-CoV-2 PCR Ct value.
Inflammatory markersDay289\. Proportion with and time to normalisation of inflammatory markers, including CRP, lymphocyte count, D-dimer, ferritin.
RadiographyDay2810\. Worsening of radiographic abnormalities.
Fever & HypoxiaDay2811\. Proportion with and time to resolution of fever and hypoxia.
patients with HIV infection and other comorbiditiesDay 2812\. Proportion of patients with HIV infection and other comorbidities (obesity, diabetes, hypertension) with primary efficacy outcome.
Timing of IP & Efficacy OutcomeDay 2813\. Relationship between timing of transfusion from symptom onset and primary efficacy outcome.
Neutralising AbDay2814\. Relationship between convalescent plasma neutralizing antibody titers and primary efficacy outcome
SARS CoV Antibody titreDay2815\. Comparison of anti-SARS-CoV-2 titer dynamics between treatment arms

Countries

South Africa

Contacts

STUDY_CHAIRSean Wasserman, A/Professor

CIDRI-Africa, University of Cape Town

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORKarin vandenBerg, Dr

South African National Blood Service

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 9, 2026