KDventures' portfolio company Modus Therapeutics' SEVUSMART study published in Nature Communications

SEVUSMART is a Phase Ib study evaluating sevuparin as an adjunctive treatment for severe malaria in children. The study was conducted as an investigator-led study with Imperial College London as sponsor and Professor Kathryn Maitland as principal investigator, supported by the SMAART consortium and funded by Wellcome. Modus Therapeutics contributed sevuparin as well as scientific and regulatory expertise and holds the commercial rights to the drug candidate.

The study enrolled 23 children with severe malaria in Kenya and Zambia and identified a maximum tolerated dose of 3 mg/kg per infusion, consistent with previous studies in adults. Dose-limiting toxicities in the form of elevated coagulation markers were observed, but no clinical bleeding complications. The observed 28-day mortality was 4.3 percent (1 of 23 children), compared with an expected risk of at least 10 percent based on disease severity.

“The publication in Nature Communications following independent peer review is a positive development and represents strong external validation of the scientific work behind SEVUSMART. The study provides an important basis for the continued clinical development of sevuparin in severe malaria, although further studies are needed to confirm the findings,” says Viktor Drvota, CEO of KDventures.

Modus Therapeutics intends to continue working with Professor Maitland and her research team on planning a Phase II study.

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

KDventures' ownership in Modus Therapeutics amounts to 51 percent.