New Molecule Fights Antibiotics Resistance

As old drugs become increasingly resistant to bacteria, a new molecule could be the answer to creating a novel class of antibiotics, thus helping to save millions of people from antibiotic-resistant infections.

“This is a new molecule with a new mode of action,” explains Gerry Wright, professor in McMaster‘s Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, researcher at the university’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, and co-author of the study. “It’s a big leap forward for us.”

Antimicrobial resistance – or AMR – is one of the world’s top public health threats. The newly found molecule called lariocidin attacks bacteria differently from other antibiotics. Indeed, it binds directly to a bacterium’s protein synthesis machinery in a new way, inhibiting its ability to grow and survive. Plus, it is not toxic to human cells, is not susceptible to existing mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, and works well in an animal model of infection. “We’re now working on ripping this molecule apart and putting it back together again to make it a better drug candidate.”