PolyU team finds new hope in fighting superbug
Local | Jane Cheung 25 Sep 2019
A new antibiotic that can suppress a drug-resistant superbug could be brought to the market in five years, a Hong Kong Polytechnic University team says.
The new drug - Nusbiarylins - could become a solution to combat multidrug resistant super bacteria Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, as it is much more effective than commonly used antibiotics and is safer for humans, the research team said.
The team led by Ma Cong, an assistant professor in the department of applied biology and chemical technology, said the World Health Organization declared drug resistance one of the biggest threats to global health earlier this year.
In Hong Kong, there were 1,218 reported cases of community-associated MRSA last year - seven times the figure in 2007.
As of last month, there had been 839 cases recorded this year.
"Despite tremendous pharmaceutical research and development investments worldwide, the search for new antibiotics has showed no progress since the mid-1980s," Ma said.
He said most antibiotics in the market work by disrupting bacteria's DNA synthesis and protein functions, but the team's new invention inhibits the synthesis of the superbug's DNA and stops it from replicating on a rapid and massive scale.
Tests showed that Nusbiarylins is seven times more effective than common antibiotic Vancomycin, which is dubbed the last resort in the United States.
Ma said tests of the new drug on the lungs and skin cells, where MRSA infections commonly occur, show that it is not toxic to humans.
"Further preclinical studies showed that Nusbiarylins is safe as injections as it does not affect blood cells, and is effective to be taken orally, as it is easily absorbed by the intestine," he said.
"Our research is now at the stage of animal studies, conducting infectious model studies and pharmacokinetic studies, which are the critical steps before clinical trials on humans."
Ma said Nusbiarylins is an artificial compound and can be easily produced in laboratories.
"The research cost on it is only 5 percent of other common antibiotics," he said. "We expect to proceed to clinical trials in two to three years and it can be introduced in the market after that, which can be five years from now at the earliest."
