Researcher’s battle to conquer ‘superbugs’ takes new front
A coveted US National Institutes of Health (NIH) R33 grant will allowMonash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s(BDI) Professor Jian Li to extend his world-leading antimicrobial research focused on bacterial 'superbugs' into a novel area: developing an aerosol of bacteriophages to treat lung infection.
Bacteriophages are viruses that destroy bacteria; Professor Li and his collaborator Professor Kim Chan from the University of Sydney are enlisting them to act as natural predators to combat multi-drug resistant (MDR) ‘superbugs’ in respiratory infections.
Growing antibiotic resistance is an urgent global medical challenge, identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the three greatest threats to human health. Lung infections caused by ‘superbugs’ account for many cases of hospital-acquired pneumonia. In Australia, pulmonary infections cost more than $150 million in direct costs and significantly more in indirect costs every year.
This NIH grant provides approximately $500,000 over three years to Professor Li at the Monash BDI. The bacteriophage formulation work will be conducted by Professor Kim Chan at the University of Sydney, while Professor Li’s laboratory is conducting animal studies to evaluate the disposition and efficacy of bacteriophages.
The highly competitive NIH grant was awarded on the basis of the existing work into phages by Professors Chan and Li.
“At the moment, we’ve already obtained a few superior formulations which showed very promising efficacy data,” Professor Li said.
“I think the inhalation of phages as an aerosol holds great promise for treating MDR lung infection, providing a safe and efficacious local treatment,” he said.
The NIH-funded project will develop bacteriophages for use as a safe, natural, and highly effective alternative to traditional antibiotics, Professor Li said. His team will evaluate different formulations, dosage regimes and combinations of treatment in readiness for clinical trials.
Professor Li, known globally for his lab’s work into a class of antibiotics called polymyxins, said novel approaches are increasingly needed to combat bacterial ‘superbugs’.
“The pharmaceutical industry has done lots of high-throughput screening over the last two decades at least and unfortunately, no novel classes of antibiotics will be available in the near future against Gram-negative ‘superbugs’, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. People need to think outside the square,” he said.
Phage therapy for bacterial infection has been around since the early 20th century but was largely superseded by the availability of antibiotics. Scientific literature and rigorous scientific evaluation into phage treatment has been wanting, Professor Li said.
Phage therapy has a few advantages over antibiotics, he said. It is more specific because the phage recognises a specific target on bacterial cells that they can attach, and the action of the virus invading and multiplying within bacteria makes their effect persistent in vivo.
“It’s absolutely exciting to have been awarded this grant, particularly because we have been working with the NIH on a number of projects on last-line polymyxins,” he said.
Professor Li has been awarded six R01 grants by the NIH since 2012. The R33 grant is different as it provides a second-phase support for innovative exploratory and development research initiated under the R21 grant mechanism.
Professor John Carroll, Monash BDI Director, congratulated Professor Li’s on his success.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a major focus for the Monash BDI. This grant recognises and will support Jian’s continued efforts to combat this global health threat through novel approaches,” Professor Carroll said.