Research & Development
Antimicrobial
Phytobacx™ for MRSA and Acne
An estimated 100,000 patients in the UK contract an antibiotic resistant infection while in hospital each year. The reported cost to the NHS of treating these infections is in excess of £1 billion. With the sharp increase of so-called "super-bugs" such as MRSA in hospitals, there is a major need for new anti-bacterial treatments. Phytobacx™ is a topical formulation isolated from a single plant and has been shown in preclinical screening assays conducted both in China and in the UK to have significant activity against clinical isolates of MRSA and against various other gram-positive bacteria, including the bacterium associated with the development of acne, Propionobacterium acnes. In multiply resistant strains, Phytobacx™ appears to be active against MRSA at one-tenth the concentration of the commonly used topical antibiotic, mupirocin. Laboratory studies of resistance extending over three weeks showed that cultures of MRSA were unable to develop resistance to Phytobacx™, and it is hypothesized that due to the inherent polymolecular nature of botanical drugs omit formation of resistance is more difficult due to the number of potentially active molecules. Formulation studies have shown that Phytobacx™ retains its anti-MRSA activity in a variety of gel formulations.