Masafumi Yoshinaga, Barry P. Rosen, Stanislaw Wnuk, and the chemical formula for arsinothricin. Credit: FIU
Key Points:
- Researchers have been awarded a U.S. patent for devising methods for chemically synthesizing arsinothricin, a new arsenic-based antibiotic.
- The broad-spectrum antibiotic is effective against come of the most common antibiotic-resistance bacteria, like MRSA and tuberculosis.
- The team sees the antibiotic as the first member of a family of arsenic-based drugs.
A team of researchers from Florida International University has been awarded a U.S. patent for devising methods for chemically synthesizing arsinothricin (AST), a new arsenic-based antibiotic. The researchers previously discovered AST as part of an international team that included the Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences in Japan.
The patent moves the researchers a step closer to producing synthetic arsenic-based drugs in their quest to solve the urgent worldwide health problem of increasing antibiotic-resistance.
According to the CDC, about 2.8 million people in the U.S. are infected with drug-resistant bacteria every year, and 35,000 die as a result. Many of these infections include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), pneumonia, tuberculosis and E. coli.
AST is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, produced in small amounts by soil bacteria, that is effective against these pathogens and is not toxic to human cells in tissue culture.
“The ability to chemically synthesize AST is significant because it allows us to produce large quantities of the drug,” said Barry Rosen, professor in cellular biology and pharmacology at FIU.
The researchers say, in addition to creating a compound that lends itself to mass production, the synthesis strategy also allows for modifications that could lead to additional new drugs.
While the group’s research has progressed steadily, they acknowledged that the typical path from start-up to manufacturing a new drug can take 10 years or more. They hope to gain the interest of angel investors and pharmaceutical companies that see the potential in their work.
“It’s very exciting, and from a public health standpoint, the work is extremely important,” Rosen said. “We see this as the first member of a family of arsenic-based drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have facilities to mass produce medications, something universities don’t have.”
Information provided by Florida International University.