Decades of work by a series of researchers has led to a groundbreaking drug, innovative patents, and the launch of a new startup.
A scientific journey decades in the making at Duke University has discovered a novel antibiotic approach to combat gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella, Pseudomonas, and E. coli, which are often responsible for urinary tract infections (UTIs). The synthetic molecule works fast and is durable in animal tests.
It works by interfering with a bacterium’s ability to make its outer lipid layer, its skin, so to speak.
“If you disrupt the synthesis of the bacterial outer membrane, the bacteria cannot survive without it,” said lead investigator Pei Zhou, a professor of biochemistry at the Duke School of Medicine. “Our compound is very good and very potent.”