Harvard University researchers have received $1.2 million from CARB-X, a Boston University-led nonprofit that funds projects that focus on drug-resistant bacteria named on the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistant Threats list.
The funds will allow Harvard researchers to dive deeper into "several promising antimicrobial leads in studies to define their potential to advance into preclinical development, or further guide chemical optimization," Andrew Myers, PhD, Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry at Harvard, stated in a Feb. 13 news release.
Dr. Myers and his team at Harvard University's Andrew G. Myers Research Group will aim to develop "a series of enhanced oral antibiotics" that successfully battle drug-resistant bacteria known to cause severe lower respiratory tract and skin and other soft-tissue infections, according to the news release.
Oral antibiotics, which more easily allow patients to receive care at home after a medical visit, are hard to come by, so the need is ever present. According to Erin Duffy, PhD, leader of research and development at CARB-X, since 2010, around 70% of new antibiotics did not have an oral option.