In view of the resistance mechanisms developed by the bacteria: the Technion researchers have developed improved antibiotic drugs * that can help in the treatment of pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics and especially the Pseudomonas bacteria that attacks cystic fibrosis patients
Technion researchers have succeeded in developing new antibiotic drugs that successfully combat the resistance mechanisms developed by pathogenic ("bad") bacteria. In particular, the new drugs will be able to treat the Pseudomonas bacterium, a pathogenic bacterium that is very difficult to treat and attacks cystic fibrosis patients.
The researchers, Professor Timur Bazov from the Faculty of Chemistry and Dr. Sima Yaron from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, say that the family of antibiotics they developed harms the process of creating proteins in bacteria and thus eliminates them. They decided to improve the antibiotic drugs that exist today, instead of synthesizing completely new drugs or searching for new substances in nature. Professor Bazov has been simultaneously working on the development of completely new drugs since 1988.
Last summer, Dr. Yaron and Professor Bazov published the positive results of their research in the scientific journal "Organic Letters" and registered a patent for the drugs they developed. "The Pseudomonas bacterium, which severely attacks cystic fibrosis patients, is currently treated with a mixture of antibiotic drugs," says Professor Bazov. "A group of researchers from most hospitals in Israel recently found that this mixture not only treats the bacteria, but also improves the condition of the patients, as it covers their genetic defect."
The Technion researchers contacted this group and are directing their research in their direction. They emphasize that until the new drugs they developed are on the shelves, the road is still long.
