Antibiotics Research and Development

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:45): In June, along with a number of honourable members, I attended a gala dinner hosted by the Australian Society for Medical Research as part of the celebration for Medical Research Week. At the dinner, I had an opportunity to talk to Dr Steven Polyak from the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences who told me about amazing research he and his colleagues are undertaking to develop new antibiotics. This research is becoming increasingly important, given the huge healthcare challenge we face with the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Recently, I visited Dr Polyak at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide and met with both Dr Polyak and his colleague Associate Professor Grant Booker to discuss their world-leading research. This research is being done in collaboration with Professor Andrew Abell (also from the University of Adelaide), Associate Professor Milne (from the University of South Australia) and Professor Wilce (from Monash University).

Antibiotics have, arguably, been one of the most successful medicines of all time. Penicillin has helped to treat millions of patients worldwide. South Australia's own Howard Florey, a University of Adelaide graduate, was awarded the Nobel Prize for his role in the development of penicillin. For well over half a century, we have relied on a limited number of antibiotics. The emergence of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics is rendering our current arsenal of antibiotics less effective and, in some cases, totally ineffective. This impacts everybody.

Even in advanced countries where patients have access to high quality healthcare systems and medicines, the threat posed by bacteria continues to be a serious one. Here, 200,000 patients catch infections in Australian hospitals each year, costing the healthcare system over $1 billion. One of the most prevalent infections is Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as golden staph, with 20 per cent of cases resistant to the front-line drug methicillin.

University of Adelaide researchers are working on a well-accepted approach to address drug resistance by developing new antibiotic classes that work through novel modes of action and that are not subject to existing resistance mechanisms. Chemicals that target proteins essential for bacterial survival represent new forms of antibiotics. The researchers have demonstrated that the metabolic protein biotin protein ligase is a valid drug target in clinically important bacteria, golden staph.

The team's approach to discovering new antibiotics is to employ 'clever drug design', where detailed knowledge about the three-dimensional structure of an identified protein is used to create new chemicals that prevent the protein from working. The key steps in this approach are:

to design new chemicals;

to make these compounds using synthetic chemistry, and then

to test these compounds in a variety of biochemical and microbiological experiments.

The data from these experiments is then used to design new, optimised compounds with the properties required in a medicine. This early stage drug discovery research is a collaborative effort involving a team of researchers with expertise in biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, microbiology, structural biology and pharmacology.

The research team has discovered and patented two novel classes of antibiotics with clinical potential. They have successfully addressed a number of key criteria required for the development of a preclinical drug candidate. Based on the progress they have made, they are well placed to test their compounds in animal models. This is a key milestone for strengthening the team's intellectual property and attracting external funding for the support of their research.

The University of Adelaide is exploring the establishment of an offshoot company as a mechanism to commercialise the technology. Once established, the company would be a vehicle to employ highly skilled personnel to perform cutting-edge pharmaceutical research, with benefits flowing to all of South Australia. The study being undertaken by the University of Adelaide is clearly leading edge and world class. I wish Dr Steven Polyak and Associate Professor Grant Booker and their team all the best in their research endeavours.