(Press-News.org) A new antibiotic drug developed by a research team led by Professor Li Xuechen from the Department of Chemistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has recently gained approval from the authorities to undergo clinical trials in the Mainland.
The new drug, which has taken the research team ten years to develop and is named Kynomycin, received the "Notice of Approval for Drug Clinical Trials" from the National Medical Products Administration of China to be tested in human subjects.
The new antibiotic drug targets complex skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI) caused by bacteria. It is a new type of cyclic lipopeptide category 1 drug with a novel chemical structure. The patent is licensed to a pharmaceutical company in the Mainland by HKU’s Technology Transfer Office through the University’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Versitech Limited.
Skin and soft tissue infections are very common bacterial infectious diseases in clinical practice, often leading to emergency visits and hospitalisation. With the emergence of clinically resistant strains and the development of bacterial pathogens that are resistant to antibiotics, treatment options have become increasingly limited.
The development of this drug aims to improve the safety and efficacy of cyclic lipopeptide antibiotics and provide a new choice for clinical treatment. After obtaining approval for this clinical trial, the drug still needs to undergo Phase I, II, and III clinical trials and be evaluated and approved by the National Medical Products Administration before it can be produced and marketed.
The research of Prof Li Xuechen lies in the interface of synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and biology, spanning from innovative synthetic method development to biological studies and drug discovery, with the ultimate aim to develop novel therapeutics.
Professor Li was honoured in May this year with the Contribution Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry by the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS), recognising his pioneering contributions in precision chemical synthesis, chemical biology, and the development of therapeutic glycoconjugates of glycoproteins and bacterial complex carbohydrates. He has also been awarded the 2023/24 Research Grants Council Senior Research Fellowship, which funds his continued research on the synthesis and application of chemically synthesised proteins.
About Technology Transfer Office, HKU
The Technology Transfer Office (TTO) manages the use of HKU’s intellectual property assets by providing patenting, licensing and other commercialisation support to the University’s researchers and inventors. Acting as the bridge linking HKU to society in the area of technology commercialisation, TTO helps industries and businesses to access HKU’s powerhouse of knowledge, innovation and expertise through close collaboration. Website: http://www.tto.hku.hk.
About Versitech Limited
Versitech Limited is the commercial arm of HKU. It was established in 1994 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University and is incorporated as a non-profit company with prominent business people on its Board of Management. Versitech negotiates, executes and manages commercial business contracts and agreements on behalf of the University. To serve business and community needs, Versitech undertakes the commercialisation of HKU innovations and technologies through licensing, the creation of start-ups or collaboration, and engages in contract research and consulting in conjunction with HKU researchers. Website: https://www.versitech.hku.hk.
For Media enquiries, please contact:
Communication and Public Affairs Office
Ms Melanie Wan (Tel: 2859 2600 / Email: melwkwan@hku.hk)
Ms Jaymee Ng (Tel: 3910 3612 / Email: ngjaymee@hku.hk)
Mr Kenneth Choi (Tel: 2859 2607 / Email: khkchoi@hku.hk)
END
New antibiotic drug developed by HKU Chemistry research team approved for clinical trials in humans
2023-10-11
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Scientists discover ‘flipping’ layers in heterostructures to cause changes in their properties
2023-10-11
Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors are special materials that have long fascinated researchers with their unique properties. For one, they are flat, one-atom-thick two-dimensional (2D) materials similar to that of graphene. They are compounds that contain different combinations of the transition metal group (e.g., molybdenum, tungsten) and chalcogen elements (e.g., sulfur, selenium, tellurium).
What's even more fascinating is that assembling different TMD layers into vertical stacks creates a new artificial material called a van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure. By incorporating different materials, it becomes possible to ...
USC researchers develop blood test for early-stage ovarian cancer
2023-10-11
High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer. It is also the most lethal form, in part because clinicians do not have effective ways to screen women for it during the cancer's early stages, when it's easiest to treat.
For patients with a pelvic mass (an abnormal lump or growth in the lower abdomen), it is difficult to detect whether the growth is benign or cancerous ahead of surgery. Unlike many other cancers, biopsies are typically not an option. That makes it hard for doctors to choose the best course of treatment.
Now, a new blood test ...
Killing remains a threat to Bornean orangutans
2023-10-11
University of Queensland research has found despite considerable conservation efforts, the illegal killing of critically endangered orangutans on Borneo may be an ongoing threat to the species.
PhD candidate Emily Massingham from UQ’s Faculty of Science managed a team of researchers which visited 79 villages across the Bornean orangutan range in Kalimantan, conducting face to face interviews with 431 people.
“Our study builds on previous research which indicated killing was one of the key reasons for orangutan population decline, alongside habitat loss,” Ms Massingham said.
“The ...
Lundquist Investigator Dr. Loren Miller is the lead author of the “universal decolonization” study published in the New English Journal of Medicine
2023-10-11
Nursing homes that use a chlorhexidine bathing routine to clean the skin, and an over-the-counter antiseptic to clean the nose, prevent serious infections and reduce the amount of antibiotic-resistant organisms in the nursing home setting, according to the findings of researchers at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, the University of California, Irvine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“The ...
Renting rather than owning a private sector home linked to faster ‘biological ageing’
2023-10-11
The biological impact of renting, as opposed to owner occupancy, is nearly double that of being out of work vs having paid employment, the findings suggest.
Fortunately, these effects are reversible, emphasising the importance of housing policy in health improvement, say the researchers.
Numerous aspects of housing are associated with physical and mental health, including cold, mould, crowding, injury hazards, stress, and stigma. But exactly how they might exert their effects isn’t entirely clear, say the researchers.
To explore this further, they drew on epigenetic ...
Genes may be responsible for third of complex regional pain syndrome cases
2023-10-11
But the condition is less common in men, even though they are more likely to have the 4 genetic variations implicated in heightened risk, suggesting that there may be sex specific causes, say the researchers.
Most cases of CRPS are usually triggered by an injury, with the skin of the affected body part hypersensitive to the slightest touch or temperature change. CRPS is difficult to treat, and while it often improves with time, some people experience intense pain for many years.
But why some people develop CRPS yet others don’t after the same injury, isn’t clear. ...
Singapore’s smoke-free law may have warded off 20,000 heart attacks in over 65s
2023-10-11
The extension was associated with a monthly fall in the rate of heart attacks, with older people and men benefitting the most from the move.
Second-hand smoke exposure is responsible for 1.3 million annual deaths around the globe, many of which are caused by heart attacks, note the researchers.
But the existing evidence on the health benefits of comprehensive smoke-free laws, which many countries (67 since 2003) have implemented, is largely confined to indoor smoking bans rather than those for housing estates and outdoor spaces, they say.
In 2013 Singapore extended smoke-free legislation ...
Death is only the beginning: Birds disperse eaten insects’ eggs
2023-10-11
Relationship patterns among flightless stick insects suggest that birds disperse the eggs after eating gravid females. Lab experiments previously suggested the possibility, but a new genetic analysis of natural populations in Japan by Kobe University researchers now supports the idea.
Most species of stick insects are flightless, yet they are distributed over wide distances and across geographical features that would impede the expansion of flightless animals. This has caused researchers to speculate that their eggs might be dispersed by birds feeding on gravid females, much in the same way as many plant species rely on birds eating their seeds together ...
Early Cambrian microfossils preserve introvert musculature of cycloneuralians
2023-10-11
An international research team led by Prof. ZHANG Huaqiao from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) has reported the discovery of extraordinary early Cambrian (ca. 535 million years ago, or Ma) microfossils preserving the introvert musculature of cycloneuralians, a group of animals that include roundworms, horsehair worms, mud dragons, and many other creatures.
The discovery added fleshy insights into early Cambrian cycloneuralians, which are closely related to arthropods, the most successful animals on Earth.
The ...
Bringing out the color in zinc
2023-10-11
Zinc is an important element that is found widely in biological systems, is cheap to manufacture relative to other metals, and has low toxicity. However, unlike other similar metals that exhibit a variety of vibrant colors in metal complexes, seeing different colors for zinc materials was not thought possible.
In a study published recently in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, have synthesized a complex with two zinc ions that does exhibit color—greatly expanding the ...