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Investigational Drug Shows Promise against Dangerous MRSA Infections

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The investigators discovered that the new investigational drug killed MRSA bacteria in such a way not found before in presently used antibiotics.
The investigators discovered that the new investigational drug killed MRSA bacteria in such a way not found before in presently used antibiotics.

This was the outcome of a new research led by Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ, and presented in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Senior author Daniel Pilch, Associate professor in Pharmacology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, describes the importance of the discovery:

“This is essential due to the fact although TXA709 is efficient on its own in treating MRSA, combining it with Cefdinir – used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections and makes it even more effective, while also considerably decreasing the potential for the MRSA bacteria to become resistant in the future.”

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are accountable for 1000’s of deaths in American hospitals every year, and they cost the economy an enormous amount.

The risk of these and other drug-resistant pathogens is so great that the World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts common infections and minimal injuries could turn into life-threatening because of lack of effective therapies.

With respect to the WHO, individuals with MRSA are approximated to be 64 percent more probably to die than individuals with a non-resistant type of the infection.

In May 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documented the initial case in the United States of a patient with an infection resistant to the “last-resort” antibiotic Colistin.

Kills MRSA in a way not seen before

In their research, where they analyze the new substance in infected mice, Prof. Pilch and colleagues discover that TXA709 “retains potent bactericidal activity against S. aureus strains resistant to the present standard-of-care medicines vancomycin, daptomycin, and linezolid.”

They observe that the new medicine destroys MRSA bacteria in a way not seen in presently used antibiotics. It blocks a protein known as FtsZ, without which the bacterium can’t split and survive.

Other tests revealed that the drug shows minimal toxicity to mammal cells, they add.

By combining the new medicine with Cefdinir, a cephalosporin antibiotic that functions in a similar way to penicillin, the investigators were capable to decrease the dose of TXA709 required to reduce the MRSA infection.

The combination effect is an essential finding, they say, due to the fact it decreases the potential for adverse side effects that might take place at higher doses.

The team also notices that as both medicines can be taken orally, they could be given in an out-patient setting. This is a benefit as most present therapies against MRSA have to be given intravenously.

“Present standard-of-care medicines for the therapy of MRSA infections are restricted. In addition, resistance to these medicines is on the rise, and their clinical effectiveness is probably to diminish in the future.”