Upcoming Biotech Opportunity Could Help Fight Hospital-Acquired Infections

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are exacting a significant toll on human life, ranking among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States alone. With an estimated 5-10% of hospital patients acquiring an infection, translating to about two million cases each year and about 90,000 deaths, there is a huge associated financial burden, which a new report estimates at between US$4.5 billion and $5.78 billion annually.

Although some progress has been made in combating HAIs, more and more infections are proving resistant to antibiotics that are currently on the market, according to Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA), an international market research company. Another threat is beginning to appear in the form of global microbes that are hitching a ride on the backs of travelers. Germs such as hepatitis C virus, the West Nile Virus, or those that cause multi-drug resistant TB and yellow fever could be the source of the next pandemic with the ability to severely cripple healthcare systems.

Just as infections can enter the hospital environment from abroad, so they can leave the hospital and enter our communities, often after exchanging gene components with other bacteria and becoming even more drug resistant. For example, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasingly present in schools and sports teams.

One thing is clear, according to market analysts from Kalorama Information, there is a strong need for new treatments to combat HAIs. But where will they come from? In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 74 new drugs, of which only two were antibiotics. Moreover, of over 2,700 compounds currently in development, only about 50 are being developed as bacterial antibiotics. "HAIs, especially the foreign bugs, are a considerable problem and the healthcare community needs help,” said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information. "Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical industry has practically abandoned developing treatments. It will fall to the biotechnology community, and biotech companies have a market opportunity here that could provide them a major revenue stream.”

Kalorama Information supplies the latest in independent market research in the life sciences, as well as a full range of custom research services.

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