Eisai's severe sepsis drug fails in trial

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — Eisai will not seek regulatory approval for a drug to treat severe sepsis after getting lackluster results from a late-stage clinical trial, the drug maker said Tuesday.

Eisai said a phase-3 trial of the drug eritoran found the drug did not significantly reduce mortality in patients with the condition compared with placebo.

Severe sepsis causes about 215,000 deaths in the United States every year, with a mortality rate of about 30%.

In other news, however, the company said it would file for approval of perampanel, a drug for epilepsy, following more promising results from a phase-3 trial.