Antibiotic Resistance

• Context (DTE|DTE): Roche, a Swiss multinational healthcare company, has discovered a new class of antibiotics (Zosurabalpin) effective against gram-negative bacteria.
• Zosurabalpin exhibits strong activity against various species of Acinetobacter that cause pneumonia and sepsis, particularly Carbapenem-resistant A baumannii (CRAB).
• It is considered a significant development since no antibiotic has been introduced in the last 50 years against gram-negative bacteria.

About Gram-negative bacteria

Acinetobacter

• Acinetobacter belongs to the Gram-negative group of bacteria.
• These bacteria are ubiquitous in nature and can be found in soil, water, and various environments.
• It causes a variety of diseases, including lung infections (“pneumonia”), sepsis and blood, wound, or urinary tract infections.

Carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB)

• An example of harmful Acinetobacter strain is CRAB.
• It has gained attention due to its ability to develop resistance to multiple antibiotics.
• CRAB is classified as a priority 1 (critical) pathogen by the WHO. Other drug-resistant forms of bacteria are Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae.
• According to the 2019 report of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on antibiotic resistance, CRAB was responsible for killing 700 people in 2017 and added about $281 million in healthcare costs.

Sepsis

• Sepsis is a life-threatening condition arising from the body’s overreactive response to an infection, leading it to injure its own tissues and organs.
• Bacterial infections cause most cases of sepsis. Sepsis can also result from other infections, including viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza, or fungal infections.