Novel semi-synthetic compound shows promise against drug-resistant tuberculosis

Jim Sun, Ph.D., Corresponding Study Author, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of British ColumbiaOur findings show a new chemical entity that has unique properties in combating Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which may be harnessed further for clinical translation. Our finding that the new compound is effective against other members of the Mycobacterium genus may also prove to be valuable in the fight against deadly lung infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria, which are notoriously resistant to most antibiotics. It is also enticing to speculate that BPD-9 could be killing Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a way that is different than that of existing anti-TB drugs."

The study was conducted in collaboration with the medicinal chemistry team of Weibo Yang, Ph.D. at the Shanghai Institute of Materia and Medica (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and bacterial genetics team of Marcel Behr, M.D., and Andréanne Lupien, Ph.D. at McGill University. The research was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Sanitarium Association.

Source:

American Society for Microbiology

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