New Antibiotics, Peptides Advance Fight Drug Resistance Globally

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health threat, causing over a million deaths annually and surpassing diseases like HIV and malaria in severity. Innovations to combat AMR include new antibiotics, alternative therapies, and advanced computational tools to track drug resistance. Roche is advancing a novel antibiotic, zosurabalpin, which targets the protective outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, a class known for high antibiotic resistance, with phase 3 trials expected soon. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed peptides made from D-amino acids that can disrupt bacterial membranes and activate immune responses, providing a dual mechanism against resistant pathogens. Meanwhile, Indian scientists at IIT Varanasi have created a computational framework combining machine learning and simulations to predict viral mutations that confer drug resistance, applicable beyond COVID-19 to other diseases. Despite these advances, antibiotic development faces economic challenges due to low profitability, underscoring the need for new funding models and regulatory pathways to support antibiotic innovation.