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Carbapenem-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae are becoming a
huge problem in healthcare settings
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Bioterrorism has a surprisingly long
history dating back to 6th century B.C. to the infamous anthrax scare in 2001. Then again, what exactly is
bioterrorism? As the name itself suggests, bioterrorism is an act of purposefully
releasing biological organisms to cause disease or death in people. Although no
bioterrorist attacks have been reported recently, it is not a completely
far-fetched idea. With Ebola epidemic still raging in West Africa due to the
lack of proper healthcare facilities, it is not impossible to think that someone
can use Ebola virus as a bioweapon to spread this disease in other parts of the
world.
As I discussed in my previous blog, antibiotic-resistance organisms are on
the rise, and as you can imagine, these organisms can also potentially be used for
bioterrorism. Robin Robinson, director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and
Development Authority (BARDA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services said that “Antibiotic resistance adversely impacts our
nation's ability to respond effectively to a bioterrorism attack and to
everyday public health threats.” This year, FDA has been asked twice by U.S. Senators to tighten
their trip on the management of antibiotics used for animals in meat industry.
Senators believe that monitoring the antibiotic use will allow the government
agencies to develop new therapeutics and keep the public health in check.
It is a little relief to see that
government is stepping up and taking actions to control antibiotic resistance. Nevertheless,
the question arises – how safe are we really? What if there is a bioterrorist
attack with multidrug-resistance organisms (MDROs)? How prepared are we to
combat this attack? The answer may be right around the corner – Carbavance. Carbavance
is a novel antimicrobial drug being developed to treat serious gram-negative
bacterial infections. The development of this drug is a joint venture between
BARDA and Rempex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Robinson believes that “by partnering
with industry to develop novel anti-microbial drugs against biothreats that
also treat drug-resistant bacteria, we can address health security and public
health needs efficiently.”
Currently, this drug is in its Phase III of clinical trials, and so far, the drug
looks promising. One of the most promising factors about Carbavance is that it
is a beta-lactamase inhibitor, which works where last defense antibiotics fail.
A few of the infections that the drug will be used to treat are urinary tract
infection, hospital acquired bacterial pneumonia, ventilator-associated
bacterial pneumonia and bacteremia.
References:
References:
The Medicines Company Announces
First Patient Enrollment in Phase 3 Studies of CARBAVANCETM in
Development for the Treatment of Serious Bacterial Infections Due to
Gram-Negative Bacteria | Business Wire. (2014, November 5). Retrieved from http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141105005423/en/Medicines-Company-Announces-Patient-Enrollment-Phase-3#.VGmNMMnUU0x
Partnership formed to develop
Carbavance, a drug against biothreats. (2014, February 5). Retrieved from http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2014/02/05/Partnership-to-develop-drug-against-biothreats-infections/UPI-94611391655526/
Neha, great choice of topic. I have done numerous papers on chemical and biological warfare. It is in fact a scary idea to think how easily they can be administered, especially with all the modern technology and weaponry. I did have a question though. I am kind of baffled by the fact that carbavance can treat all types of serious gram-negative bacterial infections. I am interested and would like a further explanation on it. I do think you covered it well in your blog, I just personally want to know about it in more detail. It is reassuring to know we have things that can treat these types of bacteria in the event something should happen. Good post. I look forward to hearing more.
ReplyDeleteHi Randy,
DeleteI apologize that I did not include lot of details about the drug, and if my wording has confused you. I don't think the drug treat every gram-negative bacterial infections, but it is a broad spectrum antibiotic, so it works for many infections. Carbapenem group of antibiotics are the last resort antibiotics, and in the clinical trials, this drug has been shown to work on Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), which has been a serious problem. I personally think that this drug is much needed because there has not been any developments in antibiotics in many years.
Neha,
ReplyDeleteNice post! Although I am a biology major but I had never heard of bioterrorism. It sure sounds like a really dangerous yet fascinating thing. Antibiotic resistance on the other hand is no doubt a very important issue. I did my first essay on tuberculosis and antibiotic resistance is the thing that is making all current medications totally useless. To try to bring under control any disease, I believe the first thing we need to do is work on antibiotic resistance issue.
The drug you mentioned, carbavance, does sound like a really promising one!
My little concern with this post is that you have used a lot of terminology words that might make it hard for non-scientific people to fully grasp what the topic is about. I would explain each terminolgy in simple words so that non-scientific people can easily follow.
Looking forward to your next posts!
Hi Rimsha,
DeleteI have read your posts about tuberculosis, and they sure are interesting! Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem in tuberculosis. More and more people are becoming resistance to most of the drugs used to treat TB, and it is scary to think how easily this disease can be spread.
Thank you for your suggestions on my post! I will keep that in mind for next time.
I like how you referenced back to your previous posts and continued to build on that specific topic even more. You actually touched on a lot of points that could be very deep and potentially have many more concerns associated with them. Bioterrorist using antibotic-resistant threats would be a huge deal! Even with the development of Carbavance, the threat is still significant. This manufactured drug no doubt costs plenty of money to manufacture leaving for the potential difficulty of distribution of this drug among the population. Just something I thought of while reading your blog. Good post!
ReplyDeleteHi Asad,
DeleteI like your thinking process! You are focusing on all aspects related to this drug. It is true that it takes billions of dollars to develop and bring a drug to the market, and it is unfortunate that the companies have to charge high prices to people for the drug to account for the manufacturing price. Not sure if you heard about the controversy on this new drug, Sovaldi for hepatitis C. Here's more information if you are interested! http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2014/08/08/even-at-900-per-cure-sovaldis-cost-could-be-unacceptable-in-india/
Hey Neha,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post Neha! Its quite interesting that bio-warfare has existed for so long, however, hasn't there been recent chemical attacks in Syria and other areas near there by extremist groups? I remember watching a campaign ad that was aimed to help stop the attacks on innocent civilians in Syria.
Hi Tyler,
DeleteYou brought up a good point; however, I am not very familiar with the chemical attacks in Syria. I will have to read up on that!
I think it is important that drug companies continue to develop new treatment options, as our supply of effective antibiotics grows thin. I wonder though if the development of these new drugs is anything more than simply a bandaid, seeing us through for a while longer. I don’t have the answer for how to combat infections without also setting the stage for drug resistant bacteria to develop but it is an interesting question to ponder. I have not heard of this new treatment and look forward to reading more about it.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting blog! It is so crucial that animals have a maintained lifestyle by their farmers. However, you are correct that it is slightly scary that bacteria could be outrunning our technology. I know that has been a great concern to those for some time. Bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics and it is becoming a race to outdo the other and faster. I really enjoyed your article because this is something that really interests me. It is interesting to hear what kind of research is being done to try to beat bacteria and hopefully cure many things.
ReplyDeleteI have read your posts about tuberculosis, and they sure are interesting! Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem in tuberculosis. More and more people are becoming resistance to most of the drugs used to treat TB, and it is scary to think how easily this disease can be spread.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your suggestions on my post! I will keep that in mind for next time.
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