A Multi-center, Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Dose-finding Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of MP4OX Treatment Plus Standard of Care in Severely Injured Trauma Patients With Lactic Acidosis Due to Hemorrhagic Shock

Acute traumatic injury, including both blunt and penetrating injury, is often associated with severe bleeding which can lead to hemorrhagic shock. During shock, inadequate perfusion of critical organs can lead to local ischemia and tissue hypoxia (insufficient oxygenation), which can be detected by an increase in serum lactate levels. Despite optimal care, more than 10% of trauma victims who reach hospital alive will die, and many will suffer from organ failure. Death and significant, persistent morbidity are consequences of trauma, and traumatic injuries are associated with lost productivity, reduced quality of life, and direct costs to patients and health care systems worldwide. Current therapies, which also include blood transfusion, are aimed at supporting failing organs, but a therapeutic agent that could help to quickly restore adequate oxygenation may be beneficial to prevent or shorten duration of organ failure and improve patient outcome.

Direct support for the proposed clinical application to use MP4OX in resuscitation from hemorrhage is found in preclinical animal studies. Using a pig model of uncontrolled hemorrhage and resuscitation, survival was greater and restoration of hemodynamics and acid-base status were improved with MP4OX relative to an equivalent volume of crystalloid, pentastarch, or unmodified hemoglobin. Administration of MP4OX improved 24-hour survival, stabilized cardiac output and arterial pressure at nearly normal levels, and reduced lactate levels more effectively than the control fluids. Importantly, these benefits of MP4OX were observed with or without co-administration of autologous blood, suggesting that blood alone was not sufficient to achieve complete resuscitation, and that the effects of MP4OX appear to be additional to those of blood.