Weng Chan
The multi-disciplinary team (Dr Ingrid Dreveny, Dr Tanya Monaghan (School of Medicine, University of Nottingham), Prof Brendan Wren and Dr Lisa Dawson (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)) led by Dr Weng Chan has won a prestigious grant of nearly £1.7M from the Medical Research Council Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (MRC DPFS) to undertake translational development of a new pathogen-specific antibiotic for treating Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection. The new antibiotic is a first-in-class with unique mechanism of action.
https://mrc.ukri.org/news/browse/latest-biomedical-catalyst-investments-will-transform-patient-outcomes/
Clostridioides difficile infection is a serious public health threat, and is the most common cause of hospital- and community-acquired infection. The infection can result in life-threatening diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. The clinical use of metronidazole and vancomycin as front-line antibiotics for treating C. difficile infection are of concerns due to their lack of C. difficile selectivity and/or low gut concentrations. The recently introduced antibiotic fidaxomicin showed some improved efficacy compared to metronidazole and vancomycin.
The research group lead by Dr Weng Chan recently discovered a promising new antibiotic with targeted, i.e. impressive levels of selectivity, and potent in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activity against multiple strains of C. difficile, including strains isolated from patients.
The MRC DPFS award will enable the team to undertake early-to-mid stage pre-clinical development of the new antibiotic for the treatment of C. difficile infection. The team aimed to establish the effective antibiotic dose needed to treat both primary and recurrent infection.
Posted on Tuesday 26th March 2019