Study of Cord Blood Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Treatment of Moderate, Severe or Critical Pneumonia

May 18, 2026 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
This is a phase I trial followed by a phase II randomized trial. The purpose of phase I study is the feasibility of treating patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) related to COVID-19 infection (COVID-19) with cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). The purpose of the phase II trial is to compare the effect of MSC with standard of care in these patients. MSCs are a type of stem cells that can be taken from umbilical cord blood and grown into many different cell types that can be used to treat cancer and other diseases. The MSCs being used for infusion in this trial are collected from healthy, unrelated donors and are stored and grown in a laboratory. Giving MSC infusions may help control the symptoms of COVID-19 related ARDS.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

1. To assess the safety of administering cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cell (CB-MSC) infusions for treatment of moderate, severe or critical pneumonia.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. In the group of participants who present intubated on ventilator support, assess the proportion that are able to be successfully extubated.
  2. In the group of participants who present requiring supplemental oxygen but otherwise breathing without assistance, assess the rate of progression to intubation.
  3. Estimate the survival rate at day 30 post treatment separately by group.

  4. Determine the treatment effect on clinical parameters, oxygenation and respiratory parameters:

    • Resolution of fever
    • Changes in oxygen demand (increased oxygen saturation at similar FiO2 or decreased FiO2 requirement)
    • Progression to mechanical ventilation
    • Length of Mechanical ventilation
    • Decrease in PEEP in intubated participants
    • Decrease in FiO2 in intubated participants

  5. Determine the treatment effect on laboratory markers:

    • Complete blood count
    • CRP
    • Ferritin
    • D Dimer
    • Procalcitonin
    • Cytokine levels
  6. Estimate hospitalization and ICU stay.
  7. Report on study related adverse events.

OUTLINE:

Currently not shipping cells outside of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

PILOT STUDY: Patients receive MSCs intravenously (IV) over 1-2 hours on day 1. participants may receive a second infusion of MSCs within 7 days after the first infusion per physician discretion.

PHASE II STUDY: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive MSCs IV over 1-2 hours on day 1. Patients may receive a second infusion of MSCs within 7 days after the first infusion per physician discretion.

ARM II: Patients receive standard of care.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at days 7, 14, 30, 60, and months 6 and 12.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
65

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • M D Anderson Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age greater than or equal 18 years.
  2. Participants with chest x-ray findings concerning for pneumonia from any cause, with clinical signs suggestive of at least moderate illness such as respiratory rate >20 breaths per minute or with oxygen saturation less than 93% on room air**
  3. Participants with COVID-19 associated pneumonia must meet baseline categorization of Moderate, Severe or Critical COVID-19 per FDA Guidance for Industry COVID-19: Developing Drugs and Biologics Products for Treatment or Prevention, February 2021.
  4. Negative pregnancy test in a woman with childbearing potential defined as not post-menopausal for 12 months or no previous surgical sterilization.
  5. Participant or legally authorized representative consent. Participants with diminished mental capacity may be allowed on to enroll on the study.
  6. Because of the nature of COVID-19, participants enrolled on this study with COVID-19 associated pneumonia may have been previously enrolled in other IND trials for their cancer diagnosis or for COVID-19. These enrollments will not exclude them from enrollment to this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Moribund participants not expected to survive up to 48 hours
  • Participants with severe chronic liver disease (Childs-Pugh score > 10)
  • Pregnant and/or lactating women
  • Participants on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Phase II Arm I (mesenchymal stem cells)
Patients receive MSCs as in the Pilot study.
Biological: Mesenchymal Stem Cell
Given IV
Other Names:
  • MPC
  • Mesenchymal Progenitor Cell
Active Comparator: Phase II Arm II (standard of care)
Patients receive standard of care.
Other: Best Practice
Receive standard of care
Other Names:
  • standard of care
  • standard therapy
Experimental: Pilot study (mesenchymal stem cells)
Patients receive MSCs IV over 1-2 hours on day 1. Patients may receive a second infusion of MSCs within 7 days after the first infusion per physician discretion.
Biological: Mesenchymal Stem Cell
Given IV
Other Names:
  • MPC
  • Mesenchymal Progenitor Cell

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of composite serious adverse events (Phase I)
Time Frame: Within 30 days of the first mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) infusion
Serious adverse events with be comprised of grade 3 or 4 graft versus host disease or death and will be estimated and reported overall and by group, along with 95% confidence intervals.
Within 30 days of the first mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) infusion
Patients alive without grade 3, 4 infusional toxicity (Phase II)
Time Frame: At day 30 post MSC infusion
At day 30 post MSC infusion
Patients alive with grade 3 or 4 infusional toxicity (Phase II)
Time Frame: At day 30 post MSC infusion
At day 30 post MSC infusion
Patients not alive (Phase II)
Time Frame: At day 30 post MSC infusion
At day 30 post MSC infusion

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of successfully extubated patients who present intubated on ventilator support (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Will be estimated and reported with 95% confidence intervals.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Rate of successful progression to intubation in patients who require supplemental oxygen but who are otherwise able to breathe without assistance (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Will be estimated and reported with 95% confidence intervals.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Overall survival rate (Phase I)
Time Frame: At day 30 post MSC infusion
Will be estimated and reported with 95% confidence intervals.
At day 30 post MSC infusion
Survival rate in patients who present intubated on ventilator support (Phase I)
Time Frame: At day 30 post MSC infusion
Will be estimated and reported with 95% confidence intervals.
At day 30 post MSC infusion
Survival rate in patients who require supplemental oxygen but who are otherwise able to breathe without assistance (Phase I)
Time Frame: At day 30 post MSC infusion
Will be estimated and reported with 95% confidence intervals.
At day 30 post MSC infusion
Clinical parameters (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
The effect of MSCs on clinical parameters will be assessed. Continuous clinical parameters will be summarized by means, medians, standard deviations, ranges, and quartiles. Categorical parameters will be summarized by frequency tables.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Oxygenation parameters (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
The effect of MSCs on oxygenation parameters will be assessed. Continuous oxygenation parameters will be summarized by means, medians, standard deviations, ranges, and quartiles. Categorical parameters will be summarized by frequency tables.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Respiratory parameters (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
The effect of MSCs on respiratory parameters will be assessed. Continuous respiratory parameters will be summarized by means, medians, standard deviations, ranges, and quartiles. Categorical parameters will be summarized by frequency tables.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Laboratory markers (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
The effect of MSCs on laboratory markers will be assessed. Continuous laboratory parameters will be summarized by means, medians, standard deviations, ranges, and quartiles. Categorical parameters will be summarized by frequency tables.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Hospitalization stay (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Intensive care unit stay (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
Incidence of infusion-related adverse events (Phase I)
Time Frame: Up to day 30 post MSC infusion
All grades of infusion-related adverse events will be summarized by grade and type.
Up to day 30 post MSC infusion

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Amanda Olson, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 29, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 22, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 24, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 25, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 18, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2020-0365 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center)
  • NCI-2020-06741 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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