Researchers Find Possible New Antibiotic

Friday, October 24th, 2003

Researchers Find Possible New Antibiotic:

U.S. researchers said on Thursday they had developed a new class of antibiotic that could potentially be developed into a new drug to fight increasingly drug-resistant bacteria.

The compounds, known by the experimental name CBR703, act in a unique way to keep bacteria from reproducing, according to the team at the University of Wisconsin, Ohio State University and privately held Cumbre Inc. of Dallas, Texas.

Writing in the journal Science, they said the compounds inhibit RNA polymerase, the key enzyme used by cells to help genes express — or to turn their genetic code into a protein that does something.

Now all we need is a drug company to pump billions of dollars into its development — even though the FDA will probably restrict its use to those cases where other drugs didn’t work.

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