Cancer drug can kill resistant bacteria
A drug being tested for cancer treatment can probably also be used to kill bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistent bacteria threaten global health. Nevertheless, few new antibiotics have come onto the market in the last 50 years.
NTNU Technology Transfer AS has now been awarded funds to develop and commercialize a new medicine that might help.
Kills bacteria
The Betatides project has its roots in NTNU’s Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine.
While testing drugs on cancer cells, Professor Marit Otterlei and her group discovered by chance that the peptides they used also prevented bacteria from growing. Peptides consist of amino acids which are the building blocks of all living organisms. Eventually, the researchers designed betatide. It kills bacteria, prevents the development of resistance, but does not harm healthy cells.
Developing new antibiotics is expensive and time-consuming, and there are strict requirements for testing and documentation. No pharmaceutical company will produce the drugs until they know the product will be good for business.
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Successful tests
“Researchers around the world are working to develop new antibiotics. We can already see small positive effects in an increased number of new antibiotics on the way,” says Siril Skaret Bakke, business developer at NTNU Technology Transfer AS.
The project received NOK 1 million from NTNU Discovery, and NOK 5 million in verification funds from the Research Council in the spring of 2024. The funds are being used to get Betatide up to a level where a pharmaceutical company would be able to bring it to the market and make it available for patient treatment.
Initially, the researchers envisage treating lung infections, before expanding to other infections. They have done several successful studies in animals.
Tests on the six most resistant, disease-causing bacteria have also produced very good results.
