The prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine has published a study conducted by several researchers from the Leiden Institute of Biology (IBL) on a new powerful antibiotic that can overcome resistance to this category of drugs and also defeat hospital-acquired infections.
The new antibiotic is stronger and less harmful to the kidneys. PHOTO Shutterstock
It’s a new version of vancomycin, EVG7, which can be an excellent option for patients suffering from life-threatening infections caused, for example, by superbugs in hospitals (hospital-acquired infections). according to Universiteit Leiden.
“The idea was to modify the original antibiotic and create a next-generation drug”says Nathaniel Martin, professor of biological chemistry, who is already analyzing ways to market the new antibiotic.
Compared to the original vancomycin, EVG7 has been shown to be 100 to 10,000 times more potent against a range of bacterial pathogens.
This means that a smaller amount of the antibiotic needs to be given, which can reduce side effects, the source said.
How the new variant of vancomycin was arrived at
The story of the EVG7 antibiotic began with the right man in the right place.
In 2017, Nathaniel Martin and his team were working in the lab, developing new chemical reactions that could be used to change the structure of different molecules.
The professor had then for the first time the idea of applying these new methods to modify the structure of a certain type of antibiotic: vancomycin.
It is not by chance that this specific antibiotic was thought of, because vancomycin is a very useful and powerful drug, but it has some disadvantages: it presents the risk of kidney damage, and since the 1980s, more and more bacteria have become resistant to this antibiotic.
A stronger drug with fewer side effects
The professor aimed to make this antibiotic stronger and less harmful to the kidneys, but also capable of defeating bacterial resistance mechanisms.
PhD student Emma van Groesen played an important role during the process, and the compound EVG7 was named after her initials.
The number 7 was added because it is the seventh in the vancomycin series of compounds that has been shown to be the most active.
What’s next
At the moment, EVG7 is ready for the next phase.
“It took us about two and a half years to get our study accepted in Science Translational Medicine”explains Martin.
Publication in said journal is the signal that an experimental drug has clinical potential.
The renowned professor is already thinking about how to bring this new generation of antibiotics to market:
“We have the ambition to either establish a new company for development or license the technology to an existing pharmaceutical company. We are actively pursuing both strategies.”
How long until the “super antibiotic” is tested on humans?
But like developing a new drug, bringing it to market is a long, complicated and expensive process.
Martin expects that around five million euros in external investment will be needed and it will take two to three years before the drug can be tested on humans for the first time.
In addition, his team must further optimize the process used to prepare EVG7 so that the antibiotic can be produced in large enough quantities to be commercially viable.
The challenge of Gram-positive bacterial infections
Gram-positive bacterial infections represent a major clinical challenge, with methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant strains continuing to be a cause for concern.
In recent years, semisynthetic vancomycin derivatives have been developed to overcome this problem, exemplified by the clinically used telavancin, which exhibits increased antibacterial potency but has also raised toxicity issues, the journal Science Translational Medicine reports.
