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Scientists say they have developed a new antibiotic that looks promising in early clinical trials.
The drug, manufactured by Shionogi Inc., acts as the Trojan in the Greek legend to trick bacteria into allowing it to enter.
Trials on 448 people with an infection of the kidneys or urinary tract suggested that the drug was as effective as current treatments.
Experts said the results were an encouraging development.
& # 39; Safe & tolerable & # 39;
The drug is inspired by the story of the giant wooden horse that had been used to sneak Greek warriors into the city of Troy.
But instead of wood, iron is used to pass an antibiotic into bacteria.
Dr. Simon Portsmouth, Head of Research, said, "In an acute infection, one of our innate immune responses is to create an environment that is low in iron.
"In response, bacteria increase their iron intake."
The new antibiotic, cefiderocol, binds to iron and, in a deadly error, the bacteria carry it beyond their defenses and into their cells.
The test results were published in Lancet Infectious Diseases.
"The Cefiderocol has been proven safe and tolerable," said Dr. Portsmouth.
The study is a rare development in the field.
Bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics make some infections extremely difficult to treat.
The Antimicrobial Resistance Review has made bleak forecasts for the future, including that 10 million people would die each year from drug – resistant infections by 2050.
Projections of deaths due to drug-resistant infections by 2050
Yet new drugs are rare.
Professor Serge Mostowy of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said: "This important study gives hope for a new antibiotic that could potentially be an alternative to treatment, but we are not there yet."
Much larger trials are still needed to make sure the new antibiotic is effective.
Experiments on people with pneumonia and infections resistant to some of our most powerful drugs, carbapenems, are already underway.
However, once the cefiderocol is introduced to the interior, it kills the bacteria in the same way as the current antibiotics.
Experts say that new classes of antibiotics – which attack bacteria in totally new ways – are urgently needed.
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