Global non-profit CARB-X awards more than AUD$2.6 million to University of Melbourne’s Doherty Institute to fight antibiotic resistance
Summary
The AUD$2.68M (US$1.75M) award by Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator ( CARB-X ) will help accelerate the pathway for the development of this new therapeutic through lead optimisation studies, with further support for preclinical studies and human clinical trials, if it proves successful.People who contract CABP struggle to breathe as their lungs fill with fluid, which can result in hospitalisation and intensive care treatment. In the US, treatment failure occurs in 22 per cent of all CABP cases due to antibiotic resistance.University of Melbournes Professor Christopher McDevitt, Head of Research in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and co-Lead of the Bacterial and Parasitic Infections Theme at the Doherty Institute, is leading the research into an innovative therapeutic approach that will target the bacteria that most commonly cause CABP Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis with the goal of disrupting their ability to resist antibiotic treatment.In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Queensland, Professor McDevitt and his team aim to improve CABP treatment outcomes and deliver valuable insights into developing new approaches to combatting antimicrobial resistance one of the most serious threats to global public health.Restoring the susceptibility of these pathogens to drug treatment will rescue the effectiveness of commonly used frontline antibiotics, said Professor McDevitt.CARBX is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to building a pipeline of high-impact products by supporting innovative, antibacterial development. Led by Boston University and funded by a consortium of governments and foundations, it supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives and rapid diagnostics. This is a crucial part of a long-term strategy to deal with CABP and other bacterial infections by aiming to preserve the usefulness of our existing antimicrobial defences, he said.The CARB-X award to Professor McDevitt supports the development of PBT2, a therapeutic originally developed as a treatment for neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimers and Huntingtons diseases. Although PBT2 did not progress as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, studies by Professor McDevitt and his collaborators discovered that PBT2 had the potential to disarm the pathways by which bacteria resist key frontline antibiotics, including amoxicillin and doxycycline.