Jan 09 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Scientists create 1st new antibiotic in nearly 30 years
Kounteya Sinha
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London
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May Hold Key To Beating Superbug
In a massive breakthrough, scientists have created the first new antibiotic in nearly three decades.Teixobactin can treat many common bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, septicemia and C Diff or clostridium difficile colitis.It eliminates pathogens without encountering any detectable resistance.The discovery comes at a time when World Health Organization (WHO) has sent out warnings that the world is staring at a post-antibiotic era when common infections will no longer have a cure. The first antibiotic, Penicillin, was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928.More than 100 compounds have been found since then, but no new class has been found since 1987.
Antibiotics have been magic bullets for human health for decades but irrational use has made most bugs resistant to these. Northeastern University's professor Kim Lewis announced on Thursday the discovery of the antibiotic. Lewis and Northeastern biology professor Slava Epstein co-authored the finding with colleagues from University of Bonn in Germany , Novo Biotic Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Selcia Ltd in the UK.
Most antibiotics target bacterial proteins, but bugs can become resistant by evolving new kinds of proteins. What's unique about Teixobactin is that it launches a double attack on the building blocks of bacterial cell walls. Experts say this will pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics because of the way it was discovered. Teixobactin could be available in the next five years. Its testing on mice has shown it clears infections without side-effects. The NU team led by Prof Lewis is now concentrating on upscaling production of Teixobactin to test it on humans.
Northeastern researchers' pioneering work to develop a novel method for growing uncultured bacteria led to the discovery of the antibiotic, and Lewis's lab played a key role in analyzing and testing the compound for resistance from pathogens.
Lewis said this marks the first discovery of an antibiotic to which resistance by mutations of pathogens have not been identified.
“So far, the strategy has been based on developing new antibiotics faster than the pathogens acquire resistance. Teixobactin presents a new opportunity to develop compounds that are essentially free of resistance,“ Lewis said. The screening of soil micro-organisms has produced most antibiotics, but only 1% of these will grow in the lab, Lewis explained. He and Epstein spent years seeking to address this problem by tapping into a new source of antibiotics beyond those created by synthetic means: uncultured bacteria, which make up 99% of all species in external environments.
Britain's CMO, Dame Sally Davies, said antibiotic resistant was “as big a risk as terrorism“, and warned that Britain faced returning to 19th century scourges when the smallest infection or operations could kill.
Antibiotics have been magic bullets for human health for decades but irrational use has made most bugs resistant to these. Northeastern University's professor Kim Lewis announced on Thursday the discovery of the antibiotic. Lewis and Northeastern biology professor Slava Epstein co-authored the finding with colleagues from University of Bonn in Germany , Novo Biotic Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Selcia Ltd in the UK.
Most antibiotics target bacterial proteins, but bugs can become resistant by evolving new kinds of proteins. What's unique about Teixobactin is that it launches a double attack on the building blocks of bacterial cell walls. Experts say this will pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics because of the way it was discovered. Teixobactin could be available in the next five years. Its testing on mice has shown it clears infections without side-effects. The NU team led by Prof Lewis is now concentrating on upscaling production of Teixobactin to test it on humans.
Northeastern researchers' pioneering work to develop a novel method for growing uncultured bacteria led to the discovery of the antibiotic, and Lewis's lab played a key role in analyzing and testing the compound for resistance from pathogens.
Lewis said this marks the first discovery of an antibiotic to which resistance by mutations of pathogens have not been identified.
“So far, the strategy has been based on developing new antibiotics faster than the pathogens acquire resistance. Teixobactin presents a new opportunity to develop compounds that are essentially free of resistance,“ Lewis said. The screening of soil micro-organisms has produced most antibiotics, but only 1% of these will grow in the lab, Lewis explained. He and Epstein spent years seeking to address this problem by tapping into a new source of antibiotics beyond those created by synthetic means: uncultured bacteria, which make up 99% of all species in external environments.
Britain's CMO, Dame Sally Davies, said antibiotic resistant was “as big a risk as terrorism“, and warned that Britain faced returning to 19th century scourges when the smallest infection or operations could kill.
