most common bacterial infection in cystic fibrosis :: Article CreatorCystic Fibrosis News
Mar. 22, 2023 — The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator has been studied for years but the new efforts have yielded important ...
Dec. 22, 2022 — Pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcus can cause severe pneumonia. If the airways then fill with fluid, the patient risks developing acute respiratory distress syndrome. Researchers have now ...
Nov. 14, 2022 — Researchers have developed a simple urine test to measure the severity of the serious disease cystic fibrosis and assess the effect of new ...
Oct. 26, 2022 — Researchers have taken a key step toward improving and lengthening the lives of cystic fibrosis patients, who experience chronically clogged airways and a dramatically shortened life ...
Oct. 25, 2022 — Cystic fibrosis is missed more often in newborn screenings for non-white than white babies, creating higher risk for irreversible lung damage and other serious outcomes in Black, Hispanic, Asian, ...
Sep. 29, 2022 — Cystic fibrosis patients who supplement their diet with vitamin C can also derive greater benefit from another antioxidant, vitamin E, resulting in a reduction in damaging inflammation, a study ...
Sep. 8, 2022 — A potential new treatment combining natural manuka honey with a widely used drug has been developed by scientists to treat a potentially lethal lung infection and greatly reduce side effects of one ...
Aug. 18, 2022 — Researchers have successfully engineered human immune cells to model an infection common among immunocompromised people in a breakthrough discovery, paving the way for new drug testing and ...
Aug. 8, 2022 — Cystic fibrosis remains an incurable genetic disorder which impairs lung function and significantly reduces life expectancy. A new combination drug therapy which addresses the disorder's ...
Aug. 1, 2022 — Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by a mutation of the CFTR gene. While there are many hundreds of known mutations, not all of them are currently treatable which means a significant number of CF ...
July 27, 2022 — Infants from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds who have positive newborn screening tests for cystic fibrosis received their diagnostic follow-up for the disease later than recommended and ...
July 14, 2022 — Antisense oligonucleotides, or ASOs, are molecules that can be used to control protein levels in cells. Scientists have discovered a new way ASOs may help cells produce a protein missing in cystic ...
June 16, 2022 — A drug discovery approach developed -- in part inspired by oil companies -- revealed why drugs for cystic fibrosis fall ...
May 24, 2022 — Cystic fibrosis is a rare genetic disease which can cause very serious symptoms. In particular, patients suffer from chronic bacterial infections that can lead to respiratory failure. It is caused by ...
Feb. 14, 2022 — Researchers have identified hundreds of new proteins that could play a role in cystic fibrosis, and which may shed light on why some patients respond better than others to current ...
Jan. 24, 2022 — Protein folding diseases, from Alzheimer's to Gaucher's, may one day be treated by a unique class of protein corrector molecules that are already helping manage cystic ...
Novel Approaches To Treating Medically Unmet Bacterial And Fungal Infections And Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a well-established challenge that has a potentially catastrophic impact both in terms of human health and global economic performance. NovaBiotics, a UK-based biotech with an equal focus on antibacterials and antifungals, is taking a unique approach to addressing AMR in many ways.
NovaBiotics has developed a novel approach to the challenge of infection and AMR by addressing the problem from the host's perspective and harnessing 'AMR status-agnostic' components of the innate immune system that normally deal with infection. In nature, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and aminothiols form the cornerstone of the body's first line of defense against the spectrum of potentially harmful microbes with which people come into contact daily. NovaBiotics has developed platforms that can harness the beneficial properties of these natural, infection-fighting agents, which have already yielded novel classes of compounds that target a range of fungal, bacterial and polymicrobial infections. This 'smart immunology' approach has already been useful in other therapeutic conditions, most notably oncology and inflammation. Indeed, eight of the top fifteen best-selling drugs are immune-derived biologics.
Delivering first-in-class drug candidates
NovaBiotics' AMP platform is generating novel, synthetic antibacterial and antifungal peptide drug candidates with membrane-targeted, rapidly microbicidal modes of action. These compounds are derived, but wholly distinct from endogenous AMPs. They share common, highly desirable properties with their endogenous AMP predecessors, including a rapid kill time and activity against a broad range of fungal, bacterial and polymicrobial infections, including multidrug-resistant pathogens, but are synthetic, therapeutically viable, novel peptide structures. While the use of such compounds as potential antimicrobials has been debated and anticipated for some time, the potential of AMP has not yet been fully realized. NovaBiotics has been able been able to re-engineer undruggable host defense peptide structures to create viable antimicrobial candidates that have demonstrated potent activity against so-called ESKAPE ( Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.) and other key bacterial pathogens, as well as a range of fungal pathogens including drug-resistant Candida spp., Aspergillus spp. And other yeasts and moulds.
Preclinical-stage candidates derived from the AMP platform include Novarifyn (NP432), a potent bactericidal peptide that outperforms traditional therapy classes in terms of kill time; Novamycin (NP339), an antifungal peptide with placebo-like safety unheard of in antifungals active against Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and Candida spp., as well as emerging fungal pathogens (anticipated to enter clinical development in 2019); and Luminaderm (NP108), which has demonstrated efficacy in the nasal decolonization of Staphylococcus spp. And outperforms the current 'gold-standard' decolonization agent, mupirocin, in its bactericidal activity against methicillin-resistant S. Aureus.
The company's second platform is underpinned by cysteamine, an endogenous aminothiol produced in mammalian cells as a result of coenzyme A metabolism through the activity of the vanin family of pantetheinase ectoenzymes. Cysteamine has antibiotic, antibiofilm and antivirulence properties, as well as being a potent, broad-spectrum chemopotentiator that improves the performance of other existing antibiotic classes.
The leading drug candidate in NovaBiotics' pipeline to emerge from the cysteamine platform is Lynovex (NM001), which provides a completely novel approach for treating the symptoms of cystic fibrosis (CF)-associated respiratory infections in all CF patients, regardless of CFTR genotype and/or mutation status. Lynovex, which is also potently mucolytic and therefore represents a breakthrough in CF treatment, has orphan drug designation in both the US and Europe and fast-track designation in the US. The company is developing two formulations of the molecule: Lynovex Oral, which is currently in phase 2 trials as a treatment for CF exacerbations, and Lynovex Inhaled, a chronic CF therapy that is set to enter clinical development in 2019.
Also derived from the same aminothiol platform as Lynovex, NovaBiotics is developing Nylexa (NM002), an antibiotic potentiator and resistance-breaking agent with utility and scope against drug-resistant (even multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant) bacterial infections that boosts and reinvigorates the effectiveness of poorly perfoming or 'defunct' (because of resistance) antibiotics (as well as being an antibiotic in its own right).
Pipeline and platform potential
"Drug candidates from both platforms have mechanisms of action that are agnostic to the antimicrobial resistance status of target pathogens and minimize, if not negate, the development of future acquired resistance," said Deborah O'Neil, CEO of NovaBiotics.
NovaBiotics has a track record in establishing successful commercial partnerships (its topical peptide antifungal for fungal nail infection, Novexatin, was outlicensed to Taro Pharmaceuticals in 2013, and an oral form of cysteamine for cystic fibrosis exacerbations was outlicensed to an undisclosed partner in 2016). "The deals we have done to date are focused on two very specific products from each of our platforms in niche indications and we are now shifting the emphasis towards the fact that we have developed more 'mainstream' antimicrobials from the two platforms. These are very commercially attractive products for use against Gram-negative and positive ESKAPE bacterial pathogens (peptides and cysteamine) and moulds and yeasts (peptides). The value of the platforms is worth more than the sum of their individual 'parts'. Both sets of technology are highly complementary, but are wholly independent platforms," O'Neil added.
Lung–Kidney Link In Cystic Fibrosis Uncovered
A CONNECTION between lung health and kidney function in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF), identifying early urinary markers of kidney injury that correlate with neutrophil activation and reduced lung capacity, has been revealed in a new study. These findings offer new insights into the systemic challenges faced by people with CF (PwCF) and emphasize the need for early detection and management of renal risks.
Key Findings
The study analyzed urinary samples from adult patients with CF and healthy individuals to quantify kidney injury markers, total protein levels, and immune cell activity. Researchers observed a significant increase in urinary protein levels in PwCF, independent of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). This suggests early-stage kidney damage that may go unnoticed using traditional renal function tests.
Elevated levels of Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) and an increased prevalence of neutrophils among urinary immune cells were strongly associated with diminished lung function. The correlation was particularly pronounced in patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, a common and severe pulmonary complication in CF. These findings suggest a potential "lung–kidney axis" in CF where chronic lung infections and neutrophil activation contribute to subclinical renal damage.
Clinical Implications
This research underscores the importance of monitoring urinary biomarkers such as KIM-1 in patients with CF, as they may provide an early warning system for kidney injury long before traditional diagnostic tools reveal damage. The association between renal injury and pulmonary health also highlights the need for comprehensive management strategies addressing both lung and kidney health in CF care.
Chronic Pseudomonas infections, which exacerbate lung decline and are now linked to renal injury, present a dual challenge for clinicians. Effective infection control and anti-inflammatory therapies may not only protect lung function but also mitigate kidney risk.
Future Directions
Further studies are needed to explore the mechanisms linking pulmonary disease to kidney injury and to evaluate potential interventions. Meanwhile, integrating routine urinary biomarker assessments into CF management protocols could improve patient outcomes.
Reference: Rosner GM et al. Lung-kidney axis in cystic fibrosis: Early urinary markers of kidney injury correlate with neutrophil activation and worse lung function. J Cyst Fibros. 2025. [Article in press]. Doi:10.1016/j.Jcf.2024.12.007.
Anaya MalikAMJ
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