Dr Mark Blaskovich … the number of patients dying from vancomycin-resistant bacteria prompted his team to look at revitalising old antibiotics.
An old drug supercharged by University of Queensland researchers has emerged as a new antibiotic that could destroy some of the world’s most dangerous superbugs.
The supercharge technique , led by Dr Mark Blaskovich and Professor Matt Cooper from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), potentially could revitalise other antibiotics.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria – superbugs – cause 700,000 deaths worldwide each year, and a UK government review has predicted this could rise to 10 million by 2050.
Dr Blaskovich said the old drug, vancomycin, was still widely used to treat extremely dangerous bacterial infections, but bacteria were becoming increasingly resistant to it.
“The rise of vancomycin-resistant bacteria, and the number of patients dying from resistant infections that cannot be successfully treated, stimulated our team to look at ways to revitalise old antibiotics,” Dr Blaskovich said.
“We did this by modifying vancomycin’s membrane-binding properties to selectively bind to bacterial membranes rather than those of human cells, creating a series of supercharged vancomycin derivatives called vancapticins.”
The rebooted vancomycin has the potential to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE).
Professor Cooper said pharmaceutical companies had departed the antibiotic discovery field because new antibiotics were difficult to find and were not as lucrative as cholesterol-lowering medications or cancer treatments.
“Hence many scientists are re-engineering existing drugs to overcome bacterial resistance, rather than searching for new drugs,” he said.
“Drug development is normally focused on improving binding to a biological target, and rarely focuses on assessing membrane-binding properties.
“This approach worked with the vancapticins, and the question now is whether it can be used to revitalise other antibiotics that have lost effectiveness against resistant bacteria.
“Given the alarming rise of multi-drug resistant bacteria and the length of time it takes to develop a new antibiotic, we need to look at any solution that could fix the antibiotic drug discovery pipeline now,” Professor Cooper said.
Learn more: Supercharged antibiotics could turn tide against superbugs
The Latest on: Supercharged antibioticx
- Lung Infections Market – Detailed Study Product Performance 2025 on February 16, 2019 at 5:44 pm
Creative Antibiotics Sweden AB, and Destiny Pharma Ltd. About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeed... […]
- Clinical Microbiology Market key players 2017-2025 : Hologic Inc., Becton Dickinson & Company, Alere Inc., and Roche Diagnostics on February 11, 2019 at 4:30 am
About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in today’s supercharged economic climate. Armed with ... […]
- ‘Superbug genes’ found in one of Earth's last ‘pristine’ Arctic wildernesses, scientists warn on January 29, 2019 at 12:58 am
Connect with us now! The evolution of bacterial defences is being supercharged by inappropriate use of antibiotics, often for viral infections where they have no effect, and use in livestock productio... […]
- Genetic study of soil organisms reveals new family of antibiotics on February 12, 2018 at 4:00 pm
Much more testing with the new family of antibiotics is required before clinical trials, of course, but for now, the researchers are optimistic, suggesting many more members of the family are likely t... […]
- Supercharged antibiotics on January 13, 2018 at 6:22 am
There's a lot of worry in the medical community about antibiotic resistant bugs - these bacteria cause 700,000 deaths a year and that number's expected to get a lot worse in the years to come. So a re... […]
- New supercharged antibiotics could help win war against superbugs on January 11, 2018 at 8:15 pm
An old drug supercharged by researchers at the University of Queensland may be a new weapon in the battle against some of the world’s most dangerous superbugs, with researchers claiming it could destr... […]
- Supercharged antibiotics could turn tide against superbugs on January 4, 2018 at 4:00 pm
An old drug supercharged by University of Queensland researchers has emerged as a new antibiotic that could destroy some of the world's most dangerous superbugs. The supercharge technique , led by Dr. ... […]
- Drugs Supercharged With Quantum Dots Could Reverse Antibiotic Resistance on October 3, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics are a growing—and alarming—problem. A new solution comes from an unexpected place: light-activated chemicals that supercharge antibiotics so that bac... […]
- Take That, Superbug! New Supercharged Antibiotic to the Rescue on May 31, 2017 at 11:45 am
There's a new antibiotic in town and superbugs are running scared. That's welcome news, because lately we've been witnessing a nightmare scenario unfolding before our eyes: bacteria that can not be ki... […]
- News Review on May 30, 2017 at 7:31 am
Scientists say they’ve created a ground-breaking new version of a life-saving antibiotic. They say the discovery will boost their battle against infections that are resistant to antibiotics, one of th... […]
via Google News and Bing News