DETECSEPS is an initiative of IHU SEPSIS – the world's first medical research center dedicated entirely to fighting sepsis, coordinated and sponsored by the Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris ("AP-HP"), in partnership with Hospices Civils de Lyon ("HCL") and the industrial partners IDS France and Volition. The DETECSEPS project was winner of the "Challenge Prevention" call for proposals launched by the French Health Innovation Agency and operated by the Banque Publique d'Investissement, as part of the France 2030 plan. As industry partners, Volition will provide the sole biomarker, Nu.Q® NETs, and IDS France, part of Revvity, will provide the IDS i10® automated analyzer to measure Nu.Q® NETs.
Professor Djillali Annane, Director of the IHU Sepsis and Head of the Intensive Care Medicine Department at the Raymond-Poincaré Hospital AP-HP commented:
"The day after World Sepsis Day, the launch of DETECSEPS marks a major milestone and, to our knowledge, a world first in the management of sepsis.
"Our ambition is to identify on arrival at the Emergency Department which patients with suspected infection are at risk of developing sepsis and require hospital care and which patients can be safely redirected home.
"By enabling earlier and fairer referral, DETECSEPS can transform the journey of each patient, improve the fluidity of emergency services and, beyond the hospital, reduce the socio-economic and environmental impact of sepsis.
"This is precisely the mission of the IHU SEPSIS: to transform research advances into concrete solutions to detect earlier, treat faster and save more lives."
Dr Andrew Retter, Medical Consultant, Volition, added:
"H3.1 levels can be routinely measured using the IDS i10® automated analyzer, provided by IDS France, with results available within one hour. The addition of the value of our biomarker could potentially enhance the application and reliability of National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2 to triage the sickest patients. In my opinion, I believe this is both a huge and realistic expectation.
"DETECSEPS aligns with Volition's core purpose of operationalizing our understanding of epigenetics and in particular, of H3.1 in clinical practice, to help identify and monitor the severity of disease. The DETECSEPS program provides an opportunity to receive personalized care, adjusted to the risk of deterioration and progression to sepsis."
Sepsis is a dysregulated response of the body to an infection, responsible for the failure of one or more organs and which can quickly become life-threatening. Worldwide, this pathology is estimated to be responsible for 21 million deaths per year1. Rapid detection is therefore crucial to improve care and reduce mortality.
Professor Sébastien Beaune, Emergency Department, IHU SEPSIS, Ambroise Paré Hospital (AP-HP) and Coordinating Investigator of DECTECSEPS program commented:
"The DETECSEPS project aims to detect sepsis early in emergency facilities.
"It is estimated that sepsis is responsible for nearly 57,000 deaths per year in France2. Moreover, survivors of sepsis go on to have significant health problems.
"This project will evaluate an early detection device, based on the combination of a clinical score used routinely and a specific blood biomarker, Nu.Q® NETs H3.1, in order to quantify the risk of progression to sepsis, and quickly to initiate appropriate measures and treatments and therefore optimize the patient's journey in the first 24 hours."
Mr. Remi Rabeuf, VP Corporate Alliances and Strategic Partnership, Volition concluded:
"We are proud to be, alongside IDS France, industry members of this Consortium and are delighted that the program has been launched.
"We hope that through the earlier identification of sepsis lives can be saved, the quality of life of survivors can be improved and importantly that the burden on healthcare systems can be reduced.
"Sepsis carries a heavy social, economic and health burden worldwide. We believe this program could be rolled out not only nationally in France, but also in many other countries around the world. With approximately 166 million sepsis cases annually1, Volition estimates the opportunity for testing represents a multi-billion dollar Total Addressable Market."
- Gray, Authia P et al. Global, regional, and national sepsis incidence and mortality, 1990–2021: a systemic analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 2025; 13(12): e2013-e2026. doi: 10.1016/s2214-109x(25)00356-0
- European Sepsis Report (accessed Sept 16th 2026)
About the Consortium
Initiated by the IHU Sepsis, led by Prof. Djillali Annane of the Raymond-Poincaré Hospital AP-HP, DETECSEPS brings together within the same consortium the AP-HP, the project's coordinating institution and sponsor of the clinical trials, the Hospices Civils de Lyon and the industrial partners IDS France and Volition, who have been involved in several IHU projects. The project reflects one of the IHU's central missions: to accelerate the transition from scientific discoveries to solutions that can be directly used at the patient's bedside.
For this project, the AP-HP is mobilizing several care services and research teams contributing to the management of sepsis. The DETECSEPS project will more specifically mobilize the emergency departments of the Bichat-Claude-Bernard and Ambroise Paré AP-HP hospitals, as well as the reference medical biology laboratories of these two sites, which contribute to the National Reference Centers (CNR) in the fight against infectious diseases. The AP-HP also provides methodological support and biostatistical analysis for the project (Department of Biostatistics of the Saint-Louis Hospital AP-HP, URC Saint Louis), medico-economic (URCEco, Hôtel-Dieu AP-HP) and public health (Public Health Department of the Raymond-Poincaré Hospital AP-HP).
About Volition
Volition is a multi-national company focused on advancing the science of epigenetics. Volition is dedicated to saving lives and improving outcomes for people and animals with life-altering diseases through earlier detection, as well as disease and treatment monitoring.
Through its subsidiaries, Volition is developing and commercializing simple, easy to use, cost-effective blood tests to help detect and monitor a range of diseases, including some cancers and diseases associated with NETosis, such as sepsis. Early detection and monitoring have the potential not only to prolong the life of patients, but also to improve their quality of life.
Volition is providing the Nu.Q® H3.1 Assay pro-bono to enable this important evaluation.
The contents found at Volition's website address are not incorporated by reference into this document and should not be considered part of this document. Such website address is included in this document as an inactive textual reference only.
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