Marketing Summary Draft  

Novel Oxazolidinone Antibacterials and the Synthetic Routes to Them

JHU Ref #: C18144

Value Proposition

·        Higher efficacy and lower toxicity oxazolidinone compounds

·        Positive activity demonstrated against M. abscessus

·        MIC values are the same or better than the current antibiotics in the market

Unmet Need

The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from long-term and widespread use of antibiotics has become a growing concern in the current clinical climate and is projected to be the number one killer by 2050. The WHO has declared AMR among the 10 worldwide public health threats facing humanity. Currently, medicinal chemists have focused their efforts on identifying new targets to develop drugs possessing novel structures with unique mechanisms of actions. The oxazolidinone class of antibiotics could effectively kill multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria; in fact, the clinical first-line drug linezolid (marketed as Zyvox) is currently indicated for various bacterial infections, has shown excellent antibacterial activity and is widely used to treat bacterial infections. Nonetheless, antibacterial resistance and adverse hematological and myelotoxic effects have been clinically observed with linezolid. Therefore, newer oxazolidinones that are safer without sacrificing antibacterial potency can be of very high utility in treating bacterial diseases.

Technology Description

Johns Hopkins researchers report the development of novel oxazolidinone compounds with unique scaffolds. The compounds have demonstrated, in vitro, high activity against M. abscessus with competitive MIC values compared to current antibiotics in the market. The compounds are currently being tested against M. tuberculosis. Two of the new compounds showed high activity againstM. abscessus, with MIC values the same or better than current antibiotics used clinically. It should be noted that there are no FDA-approved treatments for M. abscessus disease. Therefore, there is a significant potential for developing new agents to treat this disease.

Stage of Development

·        Studies have not been published yet.

Data Availability

·        Data available upon request.

Publication

N/A