Scientists have developed a new antibiotic, zosurabalpin, to attack a notoriously drug-resistant family of bacteria known as carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, or CRAB for short, which kills many of those it infects.
Zosurabalpin "kills bacteria in a way that is different from all other approved antibiotics," according to Paul Hergenrother, PhD, a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois. He was not part of the research but reviewed the findings for Nature in a written piece published Jan. 3.
The drug is said to be in its own chemical class and works by invading the inner and outer membranes that protect the gram-negative bacteria and killing it.
CRAB is also notoriously difficult to get rid of in an environment like a hospital setting, where many infections from it tend to occur. The bacteria infect the bloodstream, urinary tract, lungs, and wounds, but it is less common for healthy individuals to acquire infection from it than immunocompromised patients, according to the CDC.
Patients without symptoms can also become colonized with the bacteria and shed the virus as well. The bacteria causes around 20% of ICU infections worldwide, but accounts for only 2% of hospital-acquired infections in the U.S.
No new chemical compound or drug has been approved to treat patients with Acinetobacter baumannii infections in more than 50 years.
"[Z]osurabalpin, effectively treats highly drug-resistant contemporary isolates of CRAB both in vitro and in mouse models of infection, overcoming existing antibiotic resistance mechanisms," the authors wrote of their findings, also published Jan. 3 in Nature. "This chemical class represents a promising treatment paradigm for patients with invasive infections due to CRAB, for whom current treatment options are inadequate."
While testing involving the drug have been successful so far, zosurabalpin is only in its phase 1 clinical trial at the moment. It is still being assessed for safety and efficacy in humans.