TESTS: Thymosin Alpha-1 alongside sepsis care
1,106 adults with sepsis at 22 Chinese centres
What did they want to find out?
Were deaths prevented by adding the peptide to hospital care?
What did researchers observe?
The corrected 28-day mortality result showed no clear reduction: HR 0.97, interval 0.76–1.24.
What does this mean for you?
The main result does not offer a clear reduction. A large trial can have a negative result.
What we still do not know
Survival and immune data were corrected. Hospital population only; no proof of benefits in healthy people.
Show study details
Original sources checked on 4 October 2026. AI-assisted editorial summaries, not a systematic review or an independent medical assessment.
TESTS: Thymosin Alpha-1 alongside sepsis care
The BMJ · 2025
How it was studied
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. 1,106 adults with sepsis at 22 Chinese centres.
Study finding
The corrected 28-day mortality result showed no clear reduction: HR 0.97, interval 0.76–1.24.
Study limitations
Survival and immune data were corrected. Hospital population only; no proof of benefits in healthy people.
Who is behind the study?
- Identified authors
- Jianfeng Wu, Fei Pei, Lixin Zhou, Xiangdong Guan, Kar Keung Cheng, TESTS study collaborator group
- Funding and involvement
- Not reconfirmed from the accessed source in this check.
- Disclosed interests and verification limits
- Not reconfirmed from the accessed source; do not interpret this as absence of commercial interests.
Terms explained
- Sepsis
- A severe response to infection that can damage organs.
- Confidence interval
- Range of effects compatible with the data; here it includes no effect.
Read the source and its limitations. A reference does not automatically validate a commercial product.
Read the source