Novel Ansamycin Antibiotics to combat AntiMicrobial Resistance

As the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic passes 1 million and healthcare systems around the globe are struggling to cope there is another problem on the horizon, of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the usage of antibiotics due to being administered to patients for the prevention of secondary bacterial infections. The pandemic has highlighted how unprepared the world is for significant healthcare disruption and the need for investment in medicines to combat these disruptions.

AMR was already a global problem, each year the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2.8 million Americans acquire serious infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and 35,000 of them die as a result.

AMR is a growing problem with vast societal and economic consequences. Pathogenic bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and some strains are now resistant to all clinically used antibiotics. At the same time, the rate of discovery and deployment of new antibiotics has declined. Unfortunately, most major pharmaceutical companies have curtailed their antimicrobial and anti-infective discovery programs in favour of more profitable, lower-risk programs.

Demuris is a SME that through screening a large collection of actinomycete bacteria has identified a novel ansamycin antibiotic. It has good potency towards multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria ,which are greatest threat to the public. This project will enable the production of the compound at a scale which will enable the evaluation of any human toxicity and the potency towards a panel of hospital pathogens.