{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-21/modus-therapeutics-sevusmart-malaria-publication","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-21/modus-therapeutics-sevusmart-malaria-publication.md","title":"Modus Therapeutics Malaria Study Published in Nature","headline":"Modus Therapeutics' SEVUSMART Malaria Trial in 23 Children Published in Nature Communications","description":"Modus Therapeutics' Phase Ib SEVUSMART study of sevuparin in 23 children with severe malaria is published in Nature Communications, showing 4.3% mortality.","section":"Research & Clinical Trials","published_at":"2026-10-21T10:14:45+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-21T10:14:45+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Modus Therapeutics' SEVUSMART Phase Ib study of sevuparin in 23 children with severe malaria was published in Nature Communications on October 21, 2026.","The study identified a maximum tolerated dose of 3 mg/kg per infusion and a 28-day mortality of 4.3%, or 1 of 23 children.","Modus Therapeutics plans a Phase II study with principal investigator Professor Kathryn Maitland of Imperial College London."],"companies":[{"name":"Modus Therapeutics","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000thh/modus-therapeutics","website":"http://www.modustx.com"},{"name":"Wellcome Trust","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00005ib/wellcome-trust","website":"https://wellcome.org"}],"source":{"publisher":"TradingView","title":"Modus Therapeutics: SEVUSMART study of sevuparin in children with severe malaria published in Nature Communications","url":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/modular_finance:98ce180792f59:0-modus-therapeutics-sevusmart-study-of-sevuparin-in-children-with-severe-malaria-published-in-nature-communications/"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Research & Clinical Trials","Modus Therapeutics","Wellcome Trust"],"body_markdown":"[Modus Therapeutics](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000thh/modus-therapeutics) announced on October 21, 2026 that its Phase Ib SEVUSMART study of sevuparin in children with severe malaria was published in Nature Communications. The study of 23 children in Kenya and Zambia found a maximum tolerated dose of 3 mg/kg per infusion and a 28-day mortality of 4.3%, below the expected 10%. [TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/news/modular_finance:98ce180792f59:0-modus-therapeutics-sevusmart-study-of-sevuparin-in-children-with-severe-malaria-published-in-nature-communications/) carried the announcement.\n\n## Modus Therapeutics' SEVUSMART Trial Results\n\nThe manuscript was lead-authored by Professor Kathryn Maitland of Imperial College London with co-authors from the SMAART consortium, including University College London and the University of Oxford. It was submitted in June 2026 and made available ahead of peer review as a preprint via Research Square. SEVUSMART is an investigator-led study sponsored by Imperial College London, with Maitland as principal investigator, supported by the SMAART consortium and funded by a [Wellcome](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00005ib/wellcome-trust) research grant (209265/Z/17/Z). Modus Therapeutics contributed sevuparin and scientific and regulatory expertise, and holds the commercial rights to the drug candidate.\n\nThe study enrolled 23 children with severe malaria in Kenya and Zambia and, using a continual reassessment method, identified a maximum tolerated dose of 3 mg/kg per infusion, consistent with the dose level previously established in adult studies. The dose-limiting toxicities observed were laboratory-defined modest elevations of more than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal in APTT, a coagulation marker, with no clinical bleeding complications. The 28-day mortality was 4.3 percent, or 1 of 23 children, compared with an expected mortality risk of at least 10 percent based on the children's disease severity, and with historical comparator data of 21 to 34 percent from the SMAART observational study in the same patient populations presenting with coma. The study was an uncontrolled Phase I study without a comparator arm, and the results require confirmation in a controlled trial.\n\n\"The publication of the SEVUSMART study in Nature Communications, following independent peer review, is a strong external validation of sevuparin's clinical profile in severe malaria,\" said John Öhd, CEO of Modus Therapeutics. \"We look forward to working with Professor Maitland and her team on the next steps in the program, including the planning of a Phase II study.\"\n\n\"We are pleased that our findings on sevuparin in children with severe malaria have now been published in Nature Communications, having gone through rigorous peer review,\" said Professor Kathryn Maitland, Imperial College London, principal investigator of SEVUSMART. \"The results give us a clear dose to move forward with and provide an encouraging safety profile in a patient group where treatment options remain limited.\"\n\n## Modus Therapeutics' Funding and Pipeline\n\nModus Therapeutics is a Swedish clinical-stage biotech developing sevuparin, a proprietary non-anticoagulant heparinoid with anti-inflammatory properties, for sepsis, chronic kidney disease with anemia, severe malaria, and sickle cell disease, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The company executed a fully secured SEK 28.3 million rights issue in June 2025 to fund sevuparin development in chronic kidney disease anemia and extend its cash runway through 2026. In December 2025, it dosed the first patient in Part 2 of a Phase IIa study for sevuparin in chronic kidney disease with anemia, enrolling 50 to 60 patients in Italy. Modus Therapeutics completed its listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market under the ticker MODTX in July 2021 to fund sevuparin clinical development in sepsis.\n\n## What Comes Next for Sevuparin\n\nModus Therapeutics said it plans a Phase II study of sevuparin in severe malaria, to be planned with Maitland and her team. The SEVUSMART study completed patient recruitment in March 2025. The article, \"Sevuparin in children with severe malaria: A phase I safety and dose finding trial,\" is available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78536-3.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}