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For more than a year now, a publically accessible database is available enabling scientists to share data and insights, learn from past research, and generate new insights into how molecules interact with bacteria. Several pharmaceutical companies (such as Novartis and Achaogen) have uploaded research data from their discontinued candidate antibiotics to the database.

The Dutch trade and innovation mission to India coincides with the state visit of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. The visit symbolizes the excellent longstanding ties between the two countries. A delegation of business delegation and knowledge institutions with focus on Agri & Food, Water & Waste and Health will join the Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Minister Bruins of Medical Care and Sports and State Secretary Mona Keijzer for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, to look for cross-border collaborations between businesses, government and knowledge institutions.

The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), a not for profit organisation developing new treatments for drug resistant infections, and Entasis Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ETTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibacterial products, today jointly announced the initiation of a global phase 3 pivotal trial of zoliflodacin. Zoliflodacin is a novel, first-in-class oral antibiotic being developed for the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhoea. Following positive phase 2 results previously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Entasis and GARDP have partnered to complete late stage development, with GARDP fully-funding and sponsoring the global phase 3 trial.

One of the WHO’s three critical priority pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii, for which new antibiotics are urgently needed is one step closer to being tackled, as researchers from the Department of Chemistry – University of Warwick have made a breakthrough in understanding the enzymes that assemble the antibiotic enacyloxin.

The global increase in antimicrobial resistance is limiting available treatment options for many bacterial infections, and the current clinical pipeline for new antibacterial agents is not sufficient to cover future public health needs. The WHO is therefore developing target products profiles (TPPs) for needed antibacterial agents, providing the public health perspective to funders and developers on the performance and operational characteristics desired of new needed therapeutic products.

In Europa overlijden jaarlijks 25.000 mensen aan de gevolgen van een infectie met bacteriën die resistent zijn tegen antibiotica. De ontwikkeling van nieuwe antibiotica verloopt moeizaam, maar onderzoek van het UMC Utrecht biedt nieuwe mogelijkheden. Promovenda Dani Heesterbeek en hoogleraar Suzan Rooijakkers vertellen in De Nieuws BV over het onderzoek.