A new bioengineered drug candidate demonstrated superior performance to a standard antibiotic at treating mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus, according to results from early testing published April 24 in Cell Host & Microbe.
The antibacterial drug candidate known as SM1B74 was developed by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City and Janssen Biotech. Researchers describe it as an "anti-S.aureus monoclonal antibody-centryin fusion protein" that works in part by dodging 10 of the pathogen's disease-causing strategies, though without killing it — indicating a promising approach to address antibiotic resistance.
The drug candidate also reduced bacterial loads in the kidneys of infected mice when combined with small doses of the antibiotic vancomycin.
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