ABIONYX Pharma (Euronext Paris:ABNX), a biopharma company focused on breakthrough biotherapies to address life-threatening conditions with no effective treatments, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a strategic partnership with Lille University Hospital's Burn Treatment Center and Department of Critical Care Medicine to investigate the potential of CER-001 in critically ill patients, particularly those with severe burns and a high risk of sepsis.

The collaboration will establish translational research programmes examining the role of apoA-I and endotoxins in severe inflammation, immune dysregulation and the progression of sepsis and multi-organ failure. The initiative aims to identify biological mechanisms and patient profiles that could support future clinical development of CER-001.

Severely burned patients face a heightened risk of sepsis following the initial injury, driven by factors including impaired biological barriers, systemic inflammation, bacterial endotoxin translocation, endothelial dysfunction and prolonged immunosuppression. These mechanisms are also observed in other intensive care patients, including those experiencing septic shock, multiple trauma and major surgery.

The research will assess apoA-I and functional HDL levels, endotoxin concentrations, inflammatory and innate immunity biomarkers, endothelial dysfunction and markers of impaired biological barriers. Data from the hospital's intensive care unit will also enable comparisons across patients with different critical conditions.

CER-001 is a biomimetic particle comprising full-length recombinant human apoA-I and phospholipids. ABIONYX is developing the candidate as a host-restorative biotherapy designed to restore apoA-I's physiological functions, including endotoxin binding and clearance, inflammatory response modulation and endothelial homeostasis.

The partnership forms part of ABIONYX's strategy to expand CER-001's potential applications beyond sepsis and investigate its role in severe acute immuno-inflammatory conditions. The research is expected to generate data to guide the candidate's future development in high-risk critically ill populations.