Thrombosis a challenge for pharmaceutical industry

A milestone report puts the spotlight on thrombosis.

The collective term for various forms of thrombosis is venous thromboembolism (VTE) and includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).

All are now likely to be watched more closely following the Venous Thromboembolism Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast-2032 report from business consulting and market research company DelveInsight, which highlights the condition's consequences, new drug developments and companies targeting it.

Thrombosis occurs when blood clots block veins or arteries, with symptoms including pain and swelling in one leg, chest pain, or numbness to one side of the body. Complications can lead to a stroke, heart attack and death.

The thrombosis market has quietly gathered momentum behind COVID-19's domination of headlines, as shown by a 2021 Data Bridge Market Research forecast that thrombosis treatments would be worth almost $17 billion globally by 2028.

The DelveInsight report named a pioneering drug company in its findings, Silicon Valley-based Verseon, which is using its proprietary artificial intelligence and advanced computational drug discovery platform to develop cardiovascular treatments alongside seven other drug candidates it aims to bring to market soon.

Verseon chief executive Adityo Prakesh said thrombosis in all its forms had been hiding in plain sight for decades.

"Thrombosis poses a serious risk of stroke and heart attack to over 400 million people with cardiovascular disease worldwide," he said. "But finding anti-thrombotic drugs with a very low bleeding risk and safe for long-term use remains a challenge for the rest of the industry.

"However, our PROAC (precision oral anticoagulant) candidates promise to provide a safe long-term therapy option for cardiovascular patients."

The company's chief science officer David Kita said its PROACs "prevent undesired blood clot formation, yet also preserve hemostasis (blood flow) and promise a dramatically reduced bleeding risk"

"They have the potential to change the standard of care for millions of patients with thrombosis-related disorders," he said.

World Thrombosis Day is marked on October 13 each year, with last year's campaign quoting chilling annual figures: some 10 million cases of VTE worldwide; 100-300,000 Americans and around 550,000 Europeans dying from VTE-related conditions; and VTE-related events claiming more lives than AIDS, breast cancer, prostate cancer and road crashes combined.

Up to 60 percent of VTE cases occur during or after hospitalisation, making it a leading preventable cause of hospital death.

Other companies named in the Delvelnsight report for their emerging therapies are Bayer and Bayer/Ionis, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Janssen, Quercis Pharma, and Ono.