New Antibacterial Agents Against Infections and Food Contamination
Outside of the area of the treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, we are developing a new class of
antibacterial agents for the treatment of urinary tract and other bacterial infections in humans which have
proved highly resistant to conventional antibiotic treatments and for the treatment of E. coli O157:H7 bacterial contamination in hamburger meat and other food and drink products.
In the last ten years there has been a growing recognition of the increasing problem of antibiotic-resistant
infections and the need for truly novel antibacterial drugs.
In the field of infectious disease treatments, Nymox has developed three new antibacterial agents:
- NXB-4221: for the treatment of difficult chronic and persistent urinary tract infections;
- NXB-5886: for the treatment of streptococcal infection; and
- NXT-1021: for the treatment of staphylococcal infection.
Urinary tract infections in women caused by bacteria such as E. coli have become increasingly resistant to
conventional antibiotic treatment. Some varieties of streptococcus and staphylococcus bacteria, a common
source of infection in humans, have acquired a broad immunity to antibiotic treatments. Infections from these
antibiotic resistant bacteria are difficult to treat and can be life threatening. Nymox's three antibacterial agents
have all shown the ability to kill their bacterial targets in culture with no signs of toxicity.
E. coli contamination of food and drink is a serious public health problem worldwide and a major concern for
meat processors in particular. E. coli bacteria occur normally and usually harmlessly in the gastrointestinal
tracts of humans, cows and other animals. However, one mutant variety of the E. coli bacteria, E. coli
O157:H7, can cause life-threatening illness and has been implicated in cases of severe diarrhea, intestinal
bleeding and kidney failure, leading, in some cases, to death in children and the elderly. E. coli contamination
in hamburger meat and other food products and in drinking water affects about 100,000 people a year.
Nymox developed a potent new antibacterial agent, NXC-4720. Tests of NXC-4720 show it to be highly
effective against all known substrains of E. coli O157:H7, the bacteria implicated in these severe cases of food
and drink contamination. Tests of NXC-4720 show that it destroys E. coli O157 strains, including H7,
efficiently, rapidly and at a very low dose. Trials are continuing with this agent.
Nymox has patent rights to these and other antibacterial agents.
