Important step in fighting resistant bacteria
Summary
The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.Patients affected by the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis suffer from severe cough and lack of oxygen. The situation becomes particularly critical when the disease-causing germs become resistant against the applied antibiotics.This is where the research of Anna Hirsch, professor at Saarland University and head of the department Drug Design and Optimization at the HIPS, comes into play. This pathoblocker strategy brings a striking advantage: The development of antimicrobial resistance is slowed down remarkably as compared to the application of antibiotics. Pathoblockers give us the opportunity to make an important step forward in the arms race with the pathogens.The rise of antibiotic resistance in pathogens like P. aeruginosa is a global health threat and it is particularly threatening for people with Cystic fibrosis who are susceptible to bacterial infections, said Erin Duffy, R&D Chief of CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership led by Boston University and dedicated to funding and supporting the development of innovative products to address antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The HIPS project is in the early stages of development and holds particular promise because, if successful, it would block or disable the infection-causing capabilities of this pathogen.Within the project, the scientists at the HIPS collaborate with partners at the Paris-based INSERM institute as well as the HZI in Braunschweig.CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.