How 'breakthrough' drug Staphefekt could replace antibiotics

Scientists believe they have developed a new drug that can treat antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" such as MRSA.

Staphefekt has been hailed as the first effective alternative to antibiotics and represents a major breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria.

"The results are exciting, and demonstrate the potential this technology has to revolutionise the way we treat certain bacterial infections," said Bjorn Herpers, a clinical microbiologist responsible for testing the drug, the Daily Mail reports.

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What is Staphefekt and how does it work?

The drug is based on a naturally occurring enzyme produced by viruses and attacks infections differently to antibiotics. Unlike antibiotics, it does not destroy the harmless bacteria that live in the body, which causes it to become drug resistant. In the study, the drug was proven to eliminate MRSA in five out of six patients with skin infections.

"Endolysins exist in nature, but we’ve made a modified version that combines the bit that is best at binding to the bacteria with another bit that is best at killing it," Herpers told The Times.

"As well as being less prone to resistance induction than antibiotics, endolysins (enzymes) destroy only their target bacterial species, leaving the beneficial bacteria alone," he explained.

Why do we need a replacement for antibiotics?

Healthcare experts have long been calling for an urgent reduction in the amount of antibiotics being prescribed, warning that their overuse is fuelling the rise in drug resistant bacteria. At least 5,000 deaths a year are linked to drug-resistant diseases.

Earlier this year, David Cameron warned that the spread of drug-resistant superbugs could take medicine "back to the dark ages". England’s chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies issued a similar warning, saying "apocalyptic" scenarios where relatively simple surgeries become fatal could become a reality.

What this development means

The use of these enzymes to treat bacterial infections has been explored by scientists for decades, but "what’s exciting is that they seem to have made it work," said Mark Woolhouse from the University of Edinburgh.

Researchers are hopeful that they will be able to develop a safe and effective version of the drug in pill or intravenous form within the next five years. Once fully developed, scientists believe it could also be used to treat other multidrug-resistant infections such as tuberculosis, gonorrhoea and E coli in the future.

Mark Offerhaus, chief executive of Micreos, the biotechnology company behind the drug, said the development marks "a new era in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria."

"Millions of people stand to benefit. That’s very exciting and gratifying."