Experimental Antibiotic Shows Promise in Fight Against MRSA

THURSDAY, June 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) — An experimental antibiotic has shown promise against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in animals, according to a study published in the July issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

A combination of the new antibiotic TXA709 and the antibiotic cefdinir successfully treated animals infected with MRSA. The results are “important because even though TXA709 is effective on its own in treating MRSA, combining it with cefdinir makes it even more efficacious, while also significantly reducing the potential for the MRSA bacteria to become resistant in the future,” researcher Daniel Pilch, Ph.D., an associate professor of pharmacology at the Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J., said in a university news release.

“What is also good about this experimental treatment is that both drugs can be taken orally, which means they can be administered on an outpatient basis. All but two of the current antibiotics being used clinically to treat MRSA need to be administered intravenously,” Pilch said.

Pilch and others at Rutgers University developed the experimental antibiotic. Phase 1 clinical trials to test the safety and effectiveness of TXA709 in humans are expected to begin next spring.

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