World Sepsis Day is commemorated on the 13th of September every year to raise awareness about this life-threatening condition, resulting in at least 11 million deaths occurring globally each year. Over 7,000 facilities and organizations around the world are expected to take part in World Sepsis Day, hosting events such as provision of medical education, sports activities, and fundraising events. These events provide an important opportunity to enhance poor understanding and awareness of sepsis among healthcare professionals and the public, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Anaelle Tannen, Infectious Disease Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Sepsis is a somewhat preventable illness, and more is needed to educate individuals on the disease and the methods of prevention. Timely intervention is crucial, but the limited awareness surrounding the condition represents a barrier to the early recognition and treatment and therefore contributes to the high mortality rate.”

Treatment of sepsis predominately relies on the use of generic medicines such as anti-microbials together with supportive therapies, such as fluids or immunomodulators. Yet the lack of drugs that are specifically used to treat the pathophysiological features of sepsis represents another pressing unmet need in this therapy area.

Tannen adds: “Only one drug, has reached the market in the last 20 years. La Jolla’s Giapreza (angiotensin II acetate) was approved in 2017 for the treatment of hypotension in patients with septic or other distributive shock. There have also been a number of high-profile failures in the sepsis market over recent years, with drugs such as Eisai’s eritoran tetrasodium, AstraZeneca and BTG’s Cytofab (AZD-9773), and Agennix’s talactoferrin alfa failing to meet their primary endpoints in clinical trials.”

According to GlobalData, there are currently 168 drugs in the pipeline, 25 of which are in late-stage development (Phase II, Phase III, or Pre-registration stage). These include Adrenomed AG’s adrecizumab (a monoclonal antibody targeting adrenomedullin), Inotrems SA’s Motrem (a Triggering Receptor Expressed On Monocytes (TREM)-1 inhibitor), and RevImmune SAS’s CYT107 (an Interleukin (IL)-7 agonist), all of which are in Phase II development.

GlobalData forecasts the collective revenue for adrecizumab, mortem and CYT107 to reach $2.2 billion in 2030.

Tannen concludes: “With an expansive number of drugs in the pipeline, there is potential for sepsis to become more treatable in the near future. If approved, candidates such as adrecizumab, Motrem, and CYT107 are expected to supplement existing antibiotic treatments.”