Effectiveness of the Investigational Drug Campath-1H in Preventing Rejection of Transplanted Kidneys

Alemtuzumab was administered intravenously at 0.3 mg/kg/dose over 3 hr. Patients received one dose on each of days -1,+1,+3 and +5 relative to transplantation (total dose 1.2 mg/kg). Methylprednisolone was given prior to each dose to limit the cytokine release: 500 mg prior to dose 1, 125 mg prior to dose 2, and 60 mg prior to doses 3 and 4. Deoxyspergualin was dosed as follows. The first two patients received 4 mg/kg as a loading dose on the day of transplant and 2.5 mg/kg daily for 13 additional days (14 days of treatment; 36.5 mg/kg total dose). The next three patients received the same dosing regimen but it was initiated on postoperative day 12 to coincide with the resurgence of monocytes on days 12- 25.