Reuters Events | Pharma

Thought leadership and innovation for the Pharmaceutical Industry

An ambitious US biopharmaceutical seeks the assistance of Mother Nature in the battle against drug resistant bacteria, and its pioneering approach seems to have paid off as proverbial gold has been struck in a cave 1,600 feet below New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

By Louise Kelly on Feb 28, 2013

Cubist Pharmaceuticals are bucking the widespread trend adopted by many large drug companies.  Instead of succumbing to prevalent economic pressures in the industry and abandoning antibiotic research, the innovative biopharma firm is tapping into natural resources as part of an effort to combat superbugs that remain impervious to current medicines. 

The Massachusetts-based drug company is in partnership with microbiologist Hazel Barton who has been excavating the remote Lechuguilla Cave.  Barton, an associate professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, has found drug-resistant bacteria in retrieved samples from the cave that Cubist scientists believe may extend the life of their leading antibiotic, Cubicin, should it come under threat from intelligent bacteria in the future.  Victoria Knight-Cononni, a senior scientist at Cubist for natural products research said that the company works with Barton by adding samples she takes from caves to its own collection, then analysing all strains to find the best potential antibiotics.

Market perspective

The growing threat of resistance to antibiotics has become a very real concern for the pharma industry of late.  In its 2013 Global Risks report, the World Economic Forum named drug-resistant bacteria as one of the greatest risks to human health.  And highlighting the issue last month, Britain's chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, predicted that unless the rise in drug-resistant diseases is taken more seriously, people going for simple operations in 20 years' time will die of routine infections because existing antibiotics will be completely ineffectual.  

But because of regulatory hurdles and poor return on investment, many of the larger drug companies have opted out of the antibiotics market.   The number of drug manufacturers engaged in this brand of research and development has dwindled, AstraZeneca (AZ) and Merck among the remaining few that are similar to Cubist in their goal.  In addition to analysing chemicals that mimic natural products, AZ is working on new methods to make old drugs beneficial again. For its part, Merck is also trying to improve existing antibiotics while researching for new strains.

Nature’s wealth

Long forgotten by the drug makers, resources that grow freely in the environment are beginning to become a popular avenue of exploration for those firms that have not yet given up the ghost.  Cubist, for one, is placing its faith in Barton’s natural drug discovery, believing the potential of future returns (protection against superbugs/business growth) are too great to be ignored.

But although it may be almost a century since Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin in an unattended petri dish, recent discoveries outside of the lab suggest that this direction might be the most ‘natural’ one to take.  Whether it’s in the battle against dementia, alternative methods to relieve arthritis or even a strange method of maintaining stamina in the bedroom, the world is ready to adopt a different approach – as long as it works. With pharma like Cubist paving the way with antibiotic development success, and programs like the Innovative Medicines Initiative taking shape, perhaps more of the larger companies will shed their research reluctance and follow suit.