McMaster researchers discover promising new antibiotic

McMaster University researchers discovered on Wednesday a promising new antibiotic capable of killing some of the world’s most dangerous drug-resistant bacteria.

The compound, manikomycin, was identified by a team led by McMaster professor Gerry Wright and has shown early effectiveness against pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli and klebsiella.

Scientists say it works differently than any antibiotic currently used in medicine and targets a previously unknown weakness in bacteria, possibly opening the door to an entirely new class of treatments.

The discovery marks the fourth new antibiotic candidate from Wright’s lab in just over a year as researchers race to combat growing antibiotic resistance worldwide.

“Not a single antibiotic prescribed in clinics today does what manikomycin does,” Wright says.

“So we’ve not only found a brand-new drug candidate, but we’ve also established a brand-new target in bacteria that could potentially be exploited with other new drugs.”

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