The University of East Anglia (UEA) Medical School will fund research to adapt a MRSA-specific antibiotic being developed by Procarta Biosystems into a nasal spray for decolonization of patients before major surgery, according to Procarta. The company says that use of the spray against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections “promises to speed recovery time and reduce the number of repeat operations.”
Procarta Biosystems CSO Michael McArthur explained, “What we can offer is a novel approach in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria. Targeting gene expression is a new concept and so far no bacterial strains resistant to this approach have been identified. This means that the therapy is not only effective against drug-resistant strains but, with judicious use, may also suppress the rise of future resistances.”
UEA Professor of Translational Medicine Alastair Watson commented, “Procarta has added an important new weapon to our armory. This collaboration is a good example of how the public and private sector can work together, hopefully, to bring much needed new drugs to the clinic.”
