Top-line results of phase III SHIELD I trial of D-PLEX 100 for the prevention of surgical site infections in abdominal surgery.- Polypid Ltd

SHIELD I (Surgical site Hospital acquired Infection prEvention with Local D-PLEX100) is a prospective, multinational, randomized, double-blind Phase III trial designed to assess the efficacy and safety of D-PLEX 100 administered concomitantly with standard of care (SoC) compared to a SoC alone arm, in the prevention of post-abdominal surgery incisional infection. The primary endpoint of the trial is the combination of incisional SSIs and mortality as measured by the proportion of subjects with either an SSI event, as determined by a blinded and independent adjudication committee, or mortality for any reason within 30 days post-surgery. The SHIELD I study is designed to demonstrate at least a 50 percent reduction in incisional SSIs in the D-PLEX 100 treatment arm compared to the control arm, with 90 percent power and a maximum alpha level of 0.0487. A total of 977 patients were randomized into the study, consisting of 488 subjects in the D-PLEX 100 treatment arm and 489 patients in the control arm.

In the Intent to Treat (ITT) population, the local administration of D-PLEX 100 and SoC (n=485) resulted in a decrease in SSIs and mortality of 23 percent compared to SoC alone (n=489) (p=0.1520). Within the first 30 days post-surgery, there were 15 deaths in the SoC treatment arm, as compared to 11 in the D-PLEX 100 treatment arm. The local administration of D-PLEX 100 as compared to SoC alone also did not achieve statistical significance on the key secondary endpoint evaluating SSI events within 30 days post-abdominal index surgery.

In a pre-specified subgroup ITT analysis requested by the FDA of a total of 423 subjects with incision lengths greater than 20 centimeters, the local administration of D-PLEX 100 resulted in a statistically significant reduction of 54 percent on the primary endpoint, compared to SoC alone (p<0.0032). within the first 30 days post-surgery, ssis decreased from 8.5% in the soc treatment arm (n="211)," as compared to 4.2% in the d-plex 100 treatment arm (n="212)."></0.0032).>

“While these top-line results did not meet our expectations following the highly compelling positive data generated in our Phase II study, we remain confident in the future potential of D-PLEX 100,” said Dikla Czaczkes Akselbrad, PolyPid’s Chief Executive Officer. “The SHIELD I study, while well-executed and balanced, had a significantly lower SSI rate in the SoC treatment arm of 6.3% percent, as compared to mid-teens percentage infection rate for colorectal surgeries according to published literature at the time of the study design. The overall infection rate in SHIELD I was meaningfully impacted by the COVID-19-related safety restrictions introduced in the surgical setting during that time, a factor that decreased the infection rate in surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The low infection rate in the SoC treatment arm of the trial, significantly below historical infection rates consistent with colorectal cancer procedures, established a low baseline from which it was highly challenging to show a significant effect on SSIs. Looking ahead, we are encouraged by the data generated in the pre-specified subgroup analysis that evaluated the primary endpoint in subjects with incision lengths over 20 centimeters, which demonstrated a 54 percent reduction in SSI rates between the D-PLEX 100 treatment arm and the control arm. We intend to further assess the collective results of SHIELD I and discuss the COVID-19 driven lower than anticipated overall infection rate in the study with the FDA, as we determine the appropriate next steps for D-PLEX 100 for the prevention of SSIs in abdominal surgery. On behalf of the PolyPid team, I would like to thank the patients and physicians who participated in SHIELD I.”

There were no safety concerns raised by the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board in SHIELD I. Polypid intends to present the full top-line results from SHIELD I at a future medical meeting.