50 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • JULY 6, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Harnessing nitric oxide in a new
way to combat superbugs
Th ey are called superbugs. As their
name implies, they are difficult to treat
- and deadly. Earlier this year, in fact,
a Nevada woman was hospitalized following
a trip to India and later died
from a rare bacterial infection that
didn’t respond to the 26 antibiotics
approved for infectious diseases.
It is an ongoing cycle in science: bacteria
evolve, researchers find antibiotics
to defeat them, only for the bacteria
to develop antibiotic resistance and
the cycle starts all over again, posing an
ongoing public health threat.
According to a recent report from
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, every year, at least 2
million people in America get serious
infections with bacteria that are
resistant to one or more antibiotics
designed to treat those infections, and
these superbugs kill at least 23,000
annually as a result.
Shortly after the Nevada woman died,
the World Health Organization urged
infection researchers and the health
care industry to identify ways to fight
the most dangerous and life-threatening
superbugs.
North Carolina biotech Novoclem
Therapeutics is doing just that, but
with a different approach. Novoclem
has a potential new weapon against
superbugs, harnessing the power of
nitric oxide, a molecule that helps kill
harmful bacteria in the human body.
Early research shows the Novoclem
pipeline of nitric oxide-based therapies
has the ability to kill leading superbugs
considered public health threats, such
as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus
Aureus (MRSA), a common, resistant
strain of bacteria found in hospitals,
and Mycobacterium abscessus, a bacterium
distantly related to the ones that
cause tuberculosis.
“Th e growth of bacteria that are resistant
to antibiotics is a potential problem
for everyone; however, it is oft en a matter
of life or death for those living with
severe respiratory diseases,” noted Anne
Whitaker, president and chief executive
offi cer of Novoclem. “New products to
combat multi-drug-resistant microorganisms
are desperately needed. We are aiming
to answer that need with our new
nitric oxide product.”
Controlled release of nitric oxide via
Novoclem’s novel technology-in-development
mimics the body’s immune system
response to disease-causing bacteria.
Th eir fi rst nitric oxide product is expected
to be an inhaled formulation to treat
severe lung infections in cystic fi brosis
patients. Studies indicate the product is a
broad spectrum antibiotic and can eliminate
nine of the most common microorganisms
found in the lungs of people living
with cystic fi brosis.
Early studies show promise for the
novel nitric oxide approach and additional
studies are planned for this year
to enable the start of clinical trials in
humans next year.
If the therapy proves successful, a major
public health crisis could be averted.
For more information about Novoclem
and its technology platform, visit www.
novoclem.com.
Courtesy BPT
