R01AI168228

Discovery Through Chemical Synthesis of Antibiotics Effective Against Modern Bacterial Pathogens - Project Summary/Abstract

In recent decades, the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria has greatly outpaced the discovery of novel antibacterial agents. This research is focused on the synthesis and biological study of antibiotics effective against these modern pathogens of urgent threat. To this end, the lincosamides have been identified as an underexploited class of antibiotics. No new lincosamide has entered the market since clindamycin was approved more than 50 years ago (FDA, 1970).

Growing resistance to clindamycin and its propensity to induce life-threatening Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) colitis have limited its utility in today's armamentarium. Due to the structural complexity of this class of natural products, semi-synthetic strategies are insufficient to support future antibiotic drug discovery within this or related scaffolds.

Here, efficient synthetic pathways will be developed and implemented to prepare a large collection of lincosamide analogs inaccessible by any other means. These include analogs of a lead candidate, iboxamycin, which features a novel bicyclic oxepanoprolinamide scaffold and is efficacious in vitro and in vivo against a broad range of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. The latter include MDR ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.), identified by the WHO as targets of highest priority in antibiotic development.

By elucidating the mechanistic underpinnings and drivers of in vivo efficacy of iboxamycin and future lead antibiotics, this research will deliver multiple novel antibiotic scaffolds for preclinical exploration to target these challenging pathogens.

President And Fellows Of Harvard College

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Cambridge, Massachusetts 021382902 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 294% from $766,682 to $3,017,163.