Sepsis Treatment Lags Despite High Mortality,Fueling Call for Increased Investment
London,UK – Sepsis remains a important global health challenge,claiming hundreds of thousands of lives annually and demanding urgent investment in novel therapies,according to new data and analysis. A recent report highlights a 26% mortality rate across eight major markets (the US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US) in 2024, with nearly 700,000 sepsis-related deaths.
The significant burden of sepsis – 1.4 million incident cases and 697,600 deaths in those eight countries alone last year – underscores a critical need for improved recognition, diagnosis, and, crucially, more effective treatments. Current standards of care largely rely on generic antimicrobials and supportive therapies, but these approaches have limitations as they don’t address the varied underlying causes of the condition.
A GlobalData survey of 170 high-prescribing physicians across the 8MM in 2025 revealed piperacillin/tazobactam,vancomycin and meropenem as the most commonly used antimicrobials. However, the report emphasizes a strong unmet need for therapeutics that specifically target the complex pathophysiological processes involved in sepsis.
while historically hampered by high clinical trial failure rates and limited investment, the sepsis pipeline is showing promise. Eleven products are currently in late-stage progress across the 8MM, many utilizing novel mechanisms of action. Adrenomed’s monoclonal antibody, enibarcimab, exemplifies this shift, employing a precision medicine approach guided by biomarkers like bio-ADM and DPP3 to identify patients most likely to benefit from treatment, demonstrating improved organ function and reduced 28-day mortality in targeted groups during the AdrenOSS-2 Phase II trial.
Experts suggest continued research and development investment in innovative therapeutics is vital to address the diverse needs of sepsis patients and overcome the challenges that have historically discouraged investment in this critical area.
