New weapon in fight against antibiotic resistance discovered – UM Today
April 20, 2017 —
Scientists at St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre and the University of Manitoba have developed a drug that combats 2 of the top 10 “priority pathogens” recently defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as antibiotic-resistant bacteria requiring new interventions.
The drug, dubbed PEG-2S, has received a provisional patent, and its development is highlighted in a study published today in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP). Without affecting healthy cells, the drug prevents the proliferation of a harmful bacteria that possesses a specific type of energy supply shared by a number of other bacteria.
“New drugs are not being approved because they share the same target to which the bacteria are developing resistance. We have not only defined a new and effective target, we have designed a drug to attack it without affecting normal cells,” says Grant Pierce, St. Boniface Hospital Executive Director of Research and University of Manitoba professor of physiology and pathophysiology. “The first pathogen our research team studied (Chlamydia trachomatis) has confirmed that NQR is a good target, and it is shared by many bacteria in need of a more effective antibiotic.”
Read More: http://news.umanitoba.ca/new-weapon-in-fight-against-antibiotic-resistance-discovered/
