Abionyx Pharma Partners with Lille University Hospital to Study CER-001 in Severely Burned Patients
Announced on November 4, 2026, the partnership brings together the Burn Treatment Center and the Intensive Care Medicine department of the Lille University Hospital (CHU de Lille). It focuses on translational research, ahead of a possible clinical evaluation of CER-001, the company's lead candidate, in severely burned patients exposed to sepsis.
Targeted Research on Sepsis, the Leading Cause of Death in Severely Burned Patients
Abionyx Pharma has signed a partnership with Lille University Hospital to develop translational research programs on the role of apoA-I and endotoxin in critically ill patients. The objective is to better characterize the mechanisms linking severe acute inflammation, immune dysregulation, endotoxemia and sepsis, and to explore the potential of CER-001 in these populations.
The choice of severely burned patients is based on a clinical observation highlighted by the company: once the initial phase has passed, most deaths do not result directly from thermal injuries. The leading cause of mortality then becomes sepsis and its progression to multiple organ failure.
In these patients, circulating levels of apoA-I and HDL drop significantly, and low levels are associated with an unfavorable prognosis in sepsis. CER-001, a biomimetic particle of recombinant human apoA-I combined with phospholipids, aims to restore these physiological functions rather than block a single inflammatory mediator.
Biomarkers and Patient Profiles to Guide Clinical Development
The collaboration will notably focus on the dynamics of apoA-I and functional HDL, endotoxin load, biomarkers of inflammation and innate immunity, as well as markers of endothelial dysfunction. Their relationship with the occurrence of sepsis and organ failure will be examined.
The program will also seek to determine whether barrier alteration, endotoxin exposure and decreased apoA-I may contribute to a self-amplifying loop of the inflammatory response in certain patients. It is intended to identify mechanisms and patient profiles that could guide future clinical development of CER-001.
The Intensive Care Medicine department provides access to a broader population of patients with sepsis from other origins. Its data will make it possible to assess the extent to which common biological signatures are found across these different populations.
A First Step Contingent on Translational Data
The company presents this collaboration as “a first step” in the scientific expansion of CER-001, from sepsis toward severe acute immuno-inflammatory dysregulation.
Its Chief Executive Officer, Cyrille Tupin, links the next steps to the results: the partnership should provide, “if the translational data confirm it, a strengthened rationale to evaluate CER-001 in this new high-risk population”.
On the hospital side, Dr. Côme Bureau, hospital practitioner in intensive care medicine at Lille University Hospital, notes that anticipating a deterioration “still relies largely on clinical assessment and the experience of the practitioner”. In his view, “having markers capable of early identification of at-risk patients could change how we monitor them and adapt their treatment”.
This announcement follows two industrial agreements concluded in October 2026: with the Italian company Olon on October 7, for the production of two validation batches in LCAT deficiency, and then with Axplora on October 27, which, according to the company, completes the structuring of the CER-001 production chain. The Lille partnership, for its part, concerns the scientific extension of the candidate.
