Tackling a Serious Global Threat
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s most serious health threats.
At Entasis, we are working to develop novel antibacterials to treat serious drug-resistant bacterial infections.
Around the world, it is increasingly recognized that antibiotic resistance is a growing public health threat. The development of new antibiotic therapies is not keeping pace with the rise of antibiotic resistance and some life-threatening infections cannot be successfully treated with existing medicines. The World Health Organization (WHO) said this threat is “no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone.”
A Targeted Approach to Antibiotics
Our targeted strategy is based on our understanding of the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance within specific bacterial pathogens, and discovering novel molecules to overcome this resistance and successfully treat the pathogen.
Areas of research focus
Acinetobacter
There are few treatment options available to effectively treat patients with multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter infections. As a consequence, multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter infections are now routinely treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics such as colistin, a polymyxin class antibiotic, or tigecycline, a tetracycline class antibiotic. Agents such as colistin and tigecycline show in vitro potency against multidrug resistant Acinetobacter, but colistin can be toxic to the kidney and nervous system and tigecycline can cause gastrointestinal tolerability issues. This toxicity and intolerability can limit effective dosing, and when combined with poor tissue penetration, particularly in the lung, contribute to reduced clinical efficacy. As a result, overall mortality of patients with multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter infections is close to 50%, and there is an emerging threat of Acinetobacter strains reported to be resistant to all available antibiotic therapies, including colistin, which is currently reserved as a last-resort treatment option.
For these reasons, the Infectious Diseases Society of America has included Acinetobacter among the six most threatening antimicrobial-resistant pathogens responsible for high morbidity and mortality in patients, the CDC has classified mutlidrug-resistant Acinetobacter as a serious public health threat, and the World Health Organization included carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter as one of three critical pathogens on their Priority Pathogens List.
Enterobacteriaceae
The Infectious Diseases Society of America has included two species within the Enterobacteriaceae family, Enterobacter and Klebsiella, among the six most threatening antimicrobial-resistant pathogens responsible for high morbidity and mortality in patients, the CDC has classified CRE as an urgent public health threat while classifying ESBL-Enterobacteriaceae as a serious public health threat, and the World Health Organization included CRE and ESBL-Enterobacteriaceae among the top three critical pathogens on their Priority Pathogens List.
Pseudomonas
The Infectious Diseases Society of America has included Pseudomonas among the six most threatening antimicrobial-resistant pathogens responsible for high morbidity and mortality in patients, the CDC has classified multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas as a serious public health threat, and the World Health Organization included carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas among the top three critical pathogens on their Priority Pathogens List.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
The CDC has classified Neisseria gonorrhoeae as an urgent public health threat, and the World Health Organization included cephalosporin- and fluoroquinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae among the six high priority pathogens on their Priority Pathogens List.