Researchers at the Andrew G Myers Research Group at the Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology are engineering synthetic antibiotics that directly target bacteria which cause lower respiratory tract and skin and soft tissue infections
(BOSTON: February 13, 2024) – Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is awarding US$1.2 million to the Andrew G Myers Research Group at the Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, to develop a series of enhanced oral antibiotics that directly target a range of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which cause serious lower respiratory tract and skin and soft tissue infections.
Lower respiratory tract infections are among the world’s most deadly communicable diseases. They are estimated to have killed 2.6 million people globally in 2019, and they cause a substantial mortality, morbidity and economic burden for vulnerable people in low-income countries, where they are the second leading cause of death. Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are the most common healthcare-associated infection (HAI), accounting for 31% of all HAIs among hospitalized patients. Every year, SSTIs affect more than 500,000 patients and lead to an estimated 8,000 deaths.
“More than 70% of the antibiotics launched since 2010 do not offer an oral option for patients,” said Erin Duffy, PhD, R&D Chief of CARB-X. “Oral antibiotics enable patients to be treated at home, which can reduce healthcare costs and increase access globally, including in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of antimicrobial resistance is highest.”
The CARB-X award supports the development of enhanced lincosamides (a class of antibiotics used to treat certain types of bacterial infections) with targeted performance enhancements over the class exemplar, clindamycin. These molecules inhibit the most prolific and clinically-validated targets for antibiotics, the bacterial ribosome. When the ribosome is blocked, bacterial cell growth is inhibited. The enhanced lincosamides overcome a variety of different mechanisms that bacteria have developed to prevent antibiotics from binding to ribosomes, which has made some commonly used antibiotics ineffective. The Myers Research Group at the Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, led by Professor Andrew G. Myers, PhD, intends to deliver new frontline treatments for infections with high instances of antibiotic resistance.
“The award from CARB-X will allow us to profile several promising antimicrobial leads in studies to define their potential to advance into preclinical development, or further guide chemical optimization,” stated Andrew Myers, PhD, Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University. “This advancement in research in antibiotics has the exciting potential to combat drug-resistant bacteria, with promise of major impact on global health.”
The Myers Research Group’s project that is being advanced by CARB-X has received significant funding and advisory support from the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator. The Office of Technology Development worked with Professor Myers to protect the research group’s innovations, resulting in a robust patent portfolio for this technology. The Blavatinik Biomedical Accelerator and the Office of Technology Development will continue to support the research group throughout the duration of the agreement with CARB-X.
An estimated 1.27 million people died due to drug-resistant bacterial infections in 2019, a death toll that exceeded HIV/AIDS (864,000) and malaria (643,000) in that same year. CARB-X is building a pipeline of products to prevent, diagnose and treat bacterial infections, including those that have become resistant to antibiotics. CARB-X emphasizes performance characteristics that will allow the broadest use of these products against infections driving the greatest global morbidity and mortality.
CARB-X Supporting Solutions
When CARB-X was founded in 2016, the early-stage antibiotic pipeline was stalled. Since then, CARB-X has supported 96 R&D projects in 13 countries, and CARB-X product developers have made tremendous progress: 18 projects have advanced into or completed clinical trials; 12 remain active in clinical development, including late-stage clinical trials; and two diagnostic products have reached the market. Additionally, at least nine product developers with active R&D projects have already secured advanced development partnerships which can help support their clinical development after leaving the CARB-X portfolio.
Last year, CARB-X launched new funding rounds to support R&D projects and fill critical gaps in the antibacterial pipeline. These include oral therapeutics to replace the workhorse antibiotics that are failing; vaccines for neonatal sepsis, which kills 2.5 million infants annually; and oral therapeutics, vaccines and rapid diagnostics for gonorrhea. Resistant strains of gonorrhea have evaded all but one existing antibiotic. The Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology’s oral therapeutic is the fifth project and second therapeutic to receive a CARB-X grant as part of the 2022-2023 funding call. Additional projects are under review, and new product developers will be announced this year.
CARB-X funding for this research is supported by federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in HHS, provides support in the form of in-kind services through access to a suite of preclinical services for product development. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any CARB-X funders.
CARB-X Contact: Genevieve Holmes, carbxpr@bu.edu
Harvard University Office of Technology Development Contact: Kirsten Mabry, Kirsten_Mabry@harvard.edu
About CARB-X
CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting early-stage antibacterial research and development to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funded by a consortium of governments and foundations. CARB-X funds only projects that target drug-resistant bacteria highlighted on the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistant Threats list, or the Priority Bacterial Pathogens list published by the WHO, with a priority on those pathogens deemed Serious or Urgent on the CDC list or Critical or High on the WHO list. https://carb-x.org/ | X (formerly Twitter) @CARB_X
About Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development
Harvard’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) promotes the public good by fostering innovation and translating new inventions made at Harvard University into useful products that are available and beneficial to society. Our integrated approach to technology development comprises sponsored research and corporate alliances, intellectual property management, and technology commercialization through venture creation and licensing. More than 100 startups have launched to commercialize Harvard technologies in the past 5 years. To further bridge the academic-industry development gap, Harvard OTD manages the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator and jointly oversees the Harvard Grid. https://otd.harvard.edu
About BARDA and NIAID
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to and recovery from disaster and other public health emergencies. Within ASPR, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) invests in innovation, advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products – needed to combat health security threats and is one of the leading public sector funders of advanced development of antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostics.
As part of HHS, NIH is the primary U.S. federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
About Wellcome
Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.
About the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Education and research are crucial foundations for our future. Thus, the promotion of education, science and research is a policy priority of the German Federal Government. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) strengthens education at all stages of life and provides support for scientific research and innovation.
About the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF)
The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) is a One Health UK aid fund that supports research and development around the world to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans, animals and the environment for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). GAMRIF core objectives are to develop innovative One Health solutions to tackle AMR; increase availability of context-specific, accessible, and affordable innovations for LMICs; establish international research partnerships with industry, academia, and governments; and collaborate with and leverage additional funding from other global donors.
About the Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention. Created in 2004 with a mission to promote and protect the health of Canadians through leadership, partnership, innovation and action in public health, the Agency’s activities focus on preventing disease and injuries, responding to public health threats, promoting good physical and mental health, and providing information to support informed decision making. The Agency has a long history of working with domestic and international partners on combatting health threats, including AMR. Most recently, the Agency released the Pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR, a multijurisdictional effort that emphasizes One Health collaboration to make progress on AMR.
About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet. The Foundation’s mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.
About Boston University
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With nearly 37,000 students, it is the third-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges and the interdisciplinary Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 65 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. For further information, please contact Kim Miragliuolo at kmira@bu.edu. www.bu.edu