CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT04432987Updated Jun 16, 2020

Dornase Alpha for the Treatment of COVID-19

A Phase 2 interventional study of Pulmozyme in COVID-19, sponsored by Acibadem University. Status unknown at 1 site in Turkey. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-06-16.

Sponsored by Acibadem University · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified May 2020), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

In this study, the effectiveness of the Dornase Alpha treatment, which is known to reduce the viscosity of respiratory secretions, will be investigated in new diagnosed and severe COVID-19 patients separately.

Read the detailed description

Recent studies confirmed the role of immune hyperactivation in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Immune cells, especially neutrophils, infiltrate pulmonary capillaries that cause acute fibrin deposition and extravasation into the alveolar space. This excessive accumulation of neutrophils constitutes NETs which makes the mucus thick and viscous. The highly viscous mucus lowers the patient's respiratory function and impairs ventilation supporting NETs may play a major role in the disease. As a mechanism, double-stranded DNA constitutes the backbone of NETs and Dornase alfa promotes the clearance of NETs from plasma neutralization. Endogenous Deoxyribonucleases (DNases), which physiologically break up this extracellular DNA, may become overwhelmed by a massive influx of NETs. Clinically, recombinant human DNase I (rhDNase, Dornase Alfa) has the identical primary amino acid sequence with the native human enzyme and has been approved for the management of cystic fibrosis. Daily administration of dornase alfa is effective in the treatment of cystic fibrosis patients improving pulmonary functions. The similarity of mucus secretions in COVID-19 and cystic fibrosis patients by the means of NETs makes Dornase alfa as a therapeutic option in COVID-19.

Progressive COVID-19 pneumonia may be mortal if it is not treated early, causing respiratory failure. The most important factor leading to respiratory failure is hyaline membrane formed by a neutrophil trap that develops in the cavities of the alveoli. Dornase Alpha is thought to have an important contribution by the lysis of this hyalen membrane. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Dornase Alpha treatment in case of early and late use in COVID-19 disease.

Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 PCR and / or radiological-clinical findings is included in the study, and this treatment is carried out in 2 patient groups in comparison with the control groups. The groups are:

  1. Newly Diagnosed Patient Group I. Dornase Alpha treated group ii. Control group
  2. Patient Group Monitored by Mechanical Ventilation I. Dornase Alpha treated group ii. Control group
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Conditions studied

  • COVID-19

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Keywords

  • COVID-19, Dornase Alpha
03

In context

COVID-19

7,640 studies on the registry are indexed under COVID-19; 488 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 100 across 4,099 interventional studies indexed under COVID-19.

Browse COVID-19 studies →

Lead sponsor

Acibadem University is the lead sponsor of 210 studies on the registry; 50 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Being 18 or older
  • Approving the Informed Consent Form
  • Being diagnosed with COVID-19 with PCR and / or radiological clinical findings
  • Hospitalization indication according to Ministry of Health criteria

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant and / or breastfeeding women.
  • Any known allergy to Dornase Alpha
  • Being involved in another drug study
  • Previously diagnosed with chronic lung disease
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Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Newly Diagnosed Patient Group (n=30)

    I. Dornase Alpha treated group (n=15) ii. Control group (n=15)

    Drug: Pulmozyme

  • Experimental
    Patient Group Monitored by Mechanical Ventilation (n=30)

    I. Dornase Alpha treated group (n=15) ii. Control group (n=15)

    Drug: Pulmozyme

Interventions

  • DrugPulmozyme

    PULMOZYME contains an active substance called dornase alpha as an active substance. Dornase alpha is a human-made version of a protein called DNase in your body and is also known as recombinant human deoxyribonuclease 1 or rhDNase. Drug will be administered at a dose of 2,5 mg/2 times per day for 7 days

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Response

    i. The patient has no complaints (cough and dyspnea completely disappear, the number of breaths are in the age-appropriate range, oxygen saturation is in the normal range), inflammatory markers in blood improve (CRP, LDH, Ferritin and D-Dimer regression to the reference range). ii. Extubation (for mechanically ventilated group) iii. Intubated (for newly diagnosed group)

    Time frame: 3 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Survival

    Death

    Time frame: 3 months

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Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 16, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04432987
Lead sponsor
Acibadem University
Collaborators
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 16, 2020
Start date
May 25, 2020
Primary completion
Aug 25, 2020 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 25, 2020 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 16, 2020

Study contacts

Ercument Ovalı, MD
Contact
ercument.ovali@acibadem.com
+905325729174
Ercument Ovalı, MD
principal investigator · Acıbadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratories

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in May 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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