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Drotrecogin alpha (activated)

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Abstract

In November 2001, drotrecogin alpha (activated) (Xigris) became the first drug to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of severe sepsis, a systemic response to infection that kills an estimated 500,000 people each year. Xigris was widely anticipated to be a blockbuster, but it has not yet fulfilled these expectations. How has this situation arisen, and how might it develop?

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Figure 1: Proposed actions of activated protein C.
Figure 2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Decision Resources, Inc., 260 Charles Street, Waltham, 02453, Massachusetts, USA

    John Lebbos, Julia Bradsher & Peter Kirkpatrick

Authors
  1. John Lebbos
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  2. Julia Bradsher
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  3. Peter Kirkpatrick
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Correspondence to John Lebbos.

Additional information

Peter Kirkpatrick is Associate Editor for Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. John Lebbos and Julia Bradsher

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Lebbos, J., Bradsher, J. & Kirkpatrick, P. Drotrecogin alpha (activated). Nat Rev Drug Discov 2, 13–14 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd991

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