Efficacy and Safety of ATG-Fresenius Following a Renal Transplantation, Without Corticosteroids

Inclusion Criteria * Signed and dated informed consent form, * End-stage renal disease, * Candidates for a first transplantation, * Re-transplant patients are eligible if a graft loss after transplantation was NOT due to immunological reasons, * Availability of a heart-beating cadaveric donor up to 70 years of age with a cold ischemia time shorter than 36 hours, * Male or female patients between 18 to 75 years of age inclusive, * Patients able to comply with all study related requirements, * Patients able to receive oral medication, * Women of childbearing age with a safe contraceptive method throughout the study. Exclusion Criteria * Women who are pregnant or breast feeding, * Known Human Immunodeficiency Virus, * Hepatitis B Virus or Hepatitis C Virus infection, * Severe actual viral, bacterial or fungal infection not adequately controlled, * Patients with anamnestically known hypersensitivity to rabbit immunoglobulin antibodies or positive rabbit immunoglobulin skin test or known allergies to any component of the immunosuppressive drugs per protocol, * Patients at high immunological risk defined as current PRA \> 25% or historical PRA \> 50%, * Patients receiving pre-transplant immunosuppressive treatment, including corticosteroids, * Patients with current or history of malignancies (exception basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma in remission), * Patients with previous transplantation except 1st graft loss due to surgical complications, * Patients receiving combined transplantation, * Patients with major organ dysfunctions, * Serious psychiatric or psychological disorders, * Pre-transplant thrombocytopenia: \< 50,000 thrombocytes/µl, Pre-transplant leukopenia: \< 2,000 leukocytes/µl, * Unable or unwilling to comply fully with the protocol, * Participation in another study of an investigational medicinal product concurrently or within the last 30 days.