** U.S.-listed shares of biopharma company  IFRX.O  jump
10.4% to $4.12 premarket
    ** Company starts global Phase III testing, part of its
mid-to-late stage trial for experimental drug IFX-1, in severe
COVID-19-induced pneumonia patients
    ** Enrollment for trial has commenced in Netherlands and
IFRX has received regulatory approval for the Phase III trial in
Germany 
    ** IFRX plans to enroll about 360 participants in U.S., EU,
South America and other regions
    ** An interim analysis is planned after enrollment of 180
patients, with a potential for an early stop for efficacy or
futility
    ** IFX-1 is a monoclonal antibody, which blocks the
biological activity of C5a, a protein involved in progression of
a wide variety of autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases    
    ** IFRX U.S. shares down 5.8% this year, as of last close

 (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru)
 ((mrinalika.roy@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223
8780, outside U.S. +91 806749 8325;))