I don't think it would have been a waste of time.

I don't think it would have been a waste of time. First, the DSMC recommended it, so they must have seen some worth. Second, a few deaths makes a huge difference between the arms. We were very close to stat sig in many endpoints so it could have easily swung to stat sig. 8 deaths out of 88 is 9%, not insignificant. Third, this was a small trial, relatively speaking compared to a BP trial, every little bit helps in such a small trial. Fourth, I expect many of those deaths to have been in the placebo/SOC arm. We know LL works fast (6 days improvement) and SOC doesn't make patients better but just make them linger longer in ICU.