The development of a novel drug against a species of bacteria that is resistant to different classes of antibiotics According to Nature, existing methods have produced promising results in experiments on mice and are now being tested on humans.
Acinetobacter baumannii rcarbapenem-resistant (CRAB), A family of broad-spectrum antibiotics is listed as a priority 1 critical pathogen by the World Health Organization and an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is what has become “an important global pathogen with limited treatment options.”“And it has been more than 50 years since a new chemical class of antibiotics with activity against it reached patients,” says a study led by Claudia Zampaloni from the innovation center of the pharmaceutical company Roche in Switzerland.
Acinetobacter baumannii is a species of bacteria that is difficult to eradicate because it has an outer membrane containing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and is resistant to penetration by several antibiotics. Stop the synthesis of LPS and its transport to the outer membrane reduces cell viability and may increase sensitivity to some antibiotics.
The team discovered and developed a clinical candidate belonging to a new class of antibiotics, a linked macrocyclic peptide called zosurabalpin, which shows “promising antibacterial activity against CRAB,” Nature notes.
This drug prevents LPS from reaching the bacterium's outer membrane by inhibiting the transport complex that facilitates its movement through the layers. The antibiotic has been shown to be effective in laboratory tests and mouse models “effective in treating highly drug-resistant CRAB isolates.”“, thereby overcoming existing antibiotic resistance mechanisms.
The study suggests that zosurabalpine can circumvent existing resistance mechanisms, but the potential for resistance to this new compound requires further investigation clinically relevant conditions.
Taken together, the data demonstrate the potential of zosurabalpine as an antibiotic and Clinical trials on humans have begun This compound will be further developed with the aim of providing a treatment option for invasive infections caused by CRAB, the study adds.