US EditionA breakthrough moment: Researchers discover new class of antibiotics
- On March 26, 2025, researchers at McMaster University, led by Gerry Wright, published findings in Nature identifying lariocidin, a strong candidate to challenge drug-resistant bacteria, marking a potential shift in the antibiotic market.
- The discovery of lariocidin, a lasso peptide produced by Paenibacillus retrieved from a Hamilton backyard, addresses the critical need for new antimicrobial medicines due to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance where bacteria evolve to withstand existing drugs.
- Lariocidin exhibits a unique mode of action by binding directly to a bacterium's protein synthesis machinery, inhibiting its ability to survive and demonstrating activity against drug-resistant bacteria while remaining non-toxic to human cells and effective in animal models of infection.
- Gerry Wright, a professor at McMaster University, stated, "Our old drugs are becoming less and less effective as bacteria become more and more resistant to them," highlighting the urgency of the discovery, given that approximately 4.5 million people die annually from antibiotic-resistant infections.
- While the discovery of lariocidin and its unique antibacterial mechanism represents a significant breakthrough, with Manoj Jangra noting it as a "breakthrough moment", Wright emphasizes that extensive research is underway to modify and produce the molecule for clinical development, acknowledging that "the real hard work begins now" to make it a viable drug candidate.
22 Articles
22 Articles
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Medical advance: After 25 years they discover revolutionary antibiotic that fights resistant bacteria
In a medical breakthrough that could transform the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections, a team of researchers from McMaster University in Canada and the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC) has discovered a new class of antibiotics called lariocide. This finding, published in the prestigious journal Nature, represents the first antibiotic with a novel mechanism of action in 25 years and could open the door to a new generation of trea…
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