British scientists have synthesized a "game-changing" antibiotic that could save millions of people around the world whose lives are at risk each year from superbug infections. It is reported that "superbugs" refer to bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics due to over-prescribing or misuse of drugs.
Research led by the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom has reportedly developed a synthetic version of the compound teixobactin, and the team said that future patients may only need to take one dose of teobabide per day to treat life-threatening drug-resistant superbug infections.
It is estimated that nearly 7 million patients die each year from superbug infections.
Teobactide, first discovered in 2015 after being extracted from a field in the U.S. state of Maine, was the first new antibiotic to be discovered in decades, when it was hailed as a watershed in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
However, due to the high price and difficulty of production of this natural compound, its promotion has been hampered.
The Liverpool team was able to replicate teophatide synthetically, maintaining the same superbacterial-destroying properties as the original while reducing costs by a factor of 2,000.
It successfully eradicated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in mice. This is a superbug called MRSA, which is resistant to several widely used antibiotics.
The researchers were also able to wipe out a wide range of microbes extracted from human patients.
They hope the drug could be used as a "last line of defense" against drug-resistant superbugs in the future. It is estimated that nearly 7 million patients die each year from superbug infections.
The rise of superbugs has stoked concerns among scientists that we are approaching a post-antibiotic era where common conditions and medical procedures become more dangerous as patients succumb to previously treatable bacterial infections.
The team says the synthesized teobalide can be stored at room temperature, making global distribution easier by eliminating the need for expensive refrigerated storage and transportation.
The team, in collaboration with the University of Lincoln, hopes the results will pave the way for large-scale, inexpensive production of the drug.
Proportion of people dying from superbug infections in all regions of the globe.
Lead researcher Dr Ishwar Singh, an antimicrobial expert at the University of Liverpool, said the breakthrough was an important step towards unleashing the full medical potential of terobate to combat superbugs.
He said the team hopes to eventually get the synthetic teropapitide ready for safety testing on humans, which, if successful, could lead to the development of a drug to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections around the world.
Dr Phil Packer of the UK's Innovation Agency said the team's synthetic results were "very good" and the Innovation Agency looked forward to closely monitoring the process in the future.
Sajid Javid, HEALTH Secretary, said: "It's fantastic to see innovative work like this happening in the UK, it's another clear example of this country being at the forefront of scientific progress that can benefit people around the world. ”
An antibiotic resistance (AMR) review commissioned by the UK government predicts that 10 million people will die from drug-resistant infections each year by 2050.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin