Door EU gefinancierde projecten boeken vooruitgang met bestrijding resistente bacteriën (en)
This year's World Health Day focuses on the growing threat of potentially deadly infections developing resistance to antimicrobial drugs - especially to antibiotics. On this occasion, the European Commission is presenting the promising results of two EU-funded international research projects which provide new hopes to help and treat people. In the European Union alone, it is estimated that drug resistant infections cause more than 25,000 deaths and €1.5 billion in extra healthcare costs every year.
A new substance to tackle drug resistant tuberculosis
The project NM4TB, which gathers 18 research teams from 13 countries, discovered a novel class of substances, called benzothiazinones (BTZ), that could be used in the treatment of tuberculosis and drug resistant tuberculosis. These substances act by preventing the bacteria that cause tuberculosis from constructing their cell wall. This discovery represents an important breakthrough in the battle against tuberculosis as the most advanced compound of this new class, BTZ043, is also effective against extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
Exploiting genetic resources to find new antibiotics
18 research teams from 9 European countries and the Republic of Korea joined forces in the project ActinoGEN to discover and develop new antibiotics by exploiting the genetic resources of a group of bacteria called actinomycetes. Previous studies on the genomes of actinomycetes suggested that these bacteria had the potential to produce many new antibiotics. The researchers identified one entirely novel lead antibiotic by exploring the bacterial species Streptomyces ambofaciens, and engineered additional antibiotics by combinatorial biosynthesis. The project has generated 8 patents.
Background
A wide array of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi, are becoming resistant to drugs that are used to treat infections. This resistance, which is called antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is a major obstacle to the treatment of infectious diseases worldwide. Faced with the extent of AMR, and the dwindling number of effective antimicrobial drugs, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that it considers AMR to be one of the greatest threats to human health.
Tackling AMR requires investing in research and innovation. The EU has prioritised research in this field, supporting numerous research projects with a total amount of approximately €300 million since 1999. Priorities include developing novel medicines and therapies, defining the optimal use of existing antimicrobial drugs, developing diagnostic tools, monitoring the spread of resistance and basic research on pathogenic organisms. EU-funded projects have helped to better understand resistance mechanisms and to identify novel antimicrobial compounds that may lead to future drugs.
For more information, please contact Charlotte Gugenheim (charlotte.gugenheim@ec.europa.eu), Communication Officer, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission.
Links
Press release: World Health Day: fight against antimicrobial resistance must continue on a global scale
EU research on antimicrobial resistance
EU projects NM4TB and ActinoGEN
Project NM4TB (New Medicines for Tuberculosis)
ActinoGEN (Integrating Genomics-Based Applications to Exploit Actinomycetes as a Resource for New Antibiotics)
Brochure - EU-funded research on AMR from 2007 to 2010
Information on AMR
http://ec.europa.eu/health/antimicrobial_resistance/policy/index_en.htm
http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/antimicrobial_resistance/Pages/index.aspx
World health Day
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2011/en/index.html
Annex - Details of the project
NM4TB
Start date: 01/01/2006
End date: 30/06/2011
Project cost: €12.88 million
EU contribution: €11.07 million
Coordinator: Prof. Stewart Cole, Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne, Email: stewart.cole@epfl.ch
Participants:
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE |
Country: SWITZERLAND |
LEIBNIZ INSTITUT FUR NATURSTOFF-FORSCHUNG UND INFEKTIONSBIOLOGIE E.V.HANS-KNOLL-INSTITUT |
Country: GERMANY |
ASTRA ZENECA INDIA PVT LTD |
Country: INDIA |
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH |
Country: SOUTH AFRICA |
A.N. BAKH INSTITUTE OF BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
Country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION |
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA |
Country: ITALY |
INSTITUT PASTEUR |
Country: FRANCE |
ASTRAZENECA |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE |
Country: FRANCE |
ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL SCHOOL |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
NEED PHARMACEUTICALS |
Country: ITALY |
ASTEX THERAPEUTICS LIMITED |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH |
Country: SWITZERLAND |
COMENIUS UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES |
Country: SLOVAKIA |
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
STATENS SERUM INSTITUT |
Country: DENMARK |
QUEEN MARY & WESTFIELD COLLEGE |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
UPPSALA UNIVERSITET |
Country: SWEDEN |
VICHEM CHEMIE RESEARCH LTD. |
Country: HUNGARY |
ActinoGEN
Start date: 01/01/2005
End date: 31/12/2009
Project Cost: €11.35 million
EU contribution: €9.38 million
Coordinator: Prof. Paul Dyson, University of Wales Swansea, Email: p.j.dyson@swansea.ac.uk
Participants:
UNIVERSITY OF WALES, SWANSEA |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
UNIVERSITE PARIS-SUD |
Country: FRANCE |
EBERHARD KARLS-UNIVERSITÄT TÜBINGEN |
Country: GERMANY |
LIBRAGEN |
Country: FRANCE |
INSTITUTE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY OF LEÓN |
Country: SPAIN |
UNIVERSIDAD DE OVIEDO |
Country: SPAIN |
ENTRECHEM SL |
Country: SPAIN |
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN |
Country: GERMANY |
RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN |
Country: NETHERLANDS |
DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA CELLULARE E DELLO SVILUPPO, UNIVERSITA DI PALERMO |
Country: ITALY |
UNIVERSITY OF SURREY |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
INSTITUTE OF MICROBIOLOGY, ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC |
Country: CZECH REPUBLIC |
JOHN INNES CENTRE |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK |
Country: DENMARK |
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER |
Country: UNITED KINGDOM |
SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY |
Country: KOREA, REPUBLIC OF |
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE |
Country: FRANCE |