New research gives promising results into fighting antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK), a charity focused on developing new antibiotics to help fight superbugs, has revealed promising findings from research conducted to help bring new antibiotic therapy into clinical use by 2020.

In its first major lab research programme, the charity found antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs) which are drugs that can break anti-biotic resistance in gram negative bacteria.

The group screened over 1,500 drugs against four different species of antibiotic resistant gram-negative responsible for sepsis, pneumonia, blood, skin and urinary tract infections and gut infections.

Research, conducted in the UK, Germany and France, found that  some drugs from the pharmacopoeia drug library in combination with antibiotics can break antibiotic resistance, making the antibiotic work again.

Professor Colin Garner, chief executive of Antibiotic Research UK says: “We see the findings as hugely encouraging, endorsing as they do the ARB concept. The attraction of this approach is that because we are examining existing drugs, then positive findings can be quickly taken into the clinic without expensive safety testing. We have chosen to examine Gram-negative bacteria, which includes ESBL E.coli as well other bacteria causing blood, urinary tract and lung infections, as these are the most difficult to treat and are where the incidence of resistance is rising. The charity needs to raise £550,000 in 2017 to fund the next phase of its research, where it will progress the leads that it has identified and Christmas would be a good time to help us.”

Dr David Brown, chair of the charity’s Science Committee says: “These results provide encouragement that we can save some of our most important antibiotics from resistance. When we add a second drug alongside the antibiotics which do not work anymore, the resistant bacteria once again become susceptible to our best antibiotics which can now kill the bacteria. We will select the best combinations and then progress them towards tests in humans. And we have more ideas worthy of testing during 2017. We can save our essential antibiotics.”

The antibiotic resistance breakers are now being progressed to in depth screening.

Antibiotic resistant infections are expected to lead up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. In the UK it is estimated that 5,000 people die per year due to antibiotic resistant infections.