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Teixobactin has been found to treat many common
bacterial infections such as tuberculosis. The first new antibiotic to be
discovered in nearly 30 years has been hailed as a ‘paradigm shift’ in the
fight against the growing resistance to drugs. Photo: Alamy
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Scientists have
discovered a new antibiotic, teixobactin, that can kill serious infections in
mice without encountering any detectable resistance, offering a potential new
way to get ahead of dangerous evolving superbugs.
Reuters reports researchers
said the antibiotic, which has yet to be trialled in humans, could one day be
used to treat drug-resistant infections caused by the superbug MSRA, as well as
tuberculosis, which normally requires a combination of drugs that can have
adverse side effects.
"The discovery of
this novel compound challenges long-held scientific beliefs and holds great
promise for treating an array of menacing infections," said Kim Lewis, a
professor at Northeastern University in the United States and co-founder of the
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, which has patented teixobactin.
Lewis worked with
researchers at Germany's University of Bonn and with Britain's Selcia Limited,
and the finding was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
His co-researcher, Bonn's
Tanya Schneider, explained in a teleconference that teixobactin belongs to a
new class of compounds and kills bacteria by causing their cell walls to break
down. It seems to work by binding to multiple targets, she said, which may slow
down the development of resistance.
The problem of infections
developing drug resistance -- a feature of medicine since Alexander Fleming's
discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928 -- has worsened in
recent years as multi-drug-resistant bugs have developed and drug companies
have cut investment.
The World Health
Organization warned last year that a post-antibiotic era, where even basic
healthcare becomes dangerous due to risk of infection during routine
operations, could come this century unless something drastic is done.
Lewis and his NovoBiotic
colleagues sought to address the problem by tapping into new potential sources
of antibiotics. They developed a way of growing uncultured bacteria in their
natural environment using a miniature device called an iChip that can isolate
and help grow single cells.
NovoBiotic has since
collected about 50,000 strains of uncultured bacteria and discovered 25 new
antibiotics, of which teixobactin is the latest and most interesting, Lewis
said.
Scientists not involved
in the work welcomed the finding, but cautioned that human trials of
teixobactin would be key.
"The discovery of a
potential new class of antibiotics is good news," said Richard Seabrook of
Britain's Wellcome Trust medical charity. "Screening previously
unculturable soil bacteria is a new twist in the search ... and it is
encouraging to see this approach yielding results. However, we will not know
whether teixobactin will be effective in humans until this research is taken
... to clinical trials."
Lewis hopes to start human
testing in around two years.
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