New tuberculosis antibiotic may shorten treatment time, fight drug-resistant strains
Contact: Jessica Lawrence-Hurt
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American Association for the Advancement of Science
Antibiotic is effective in mice, safe in humans, Science study suggests
This release is also available in French.
A new antibiotic shows promise, thus far in mice, for treating tuberculosis much faster than current drugs do, scientists report. Additional evidence indicates that the antibiotic may work against multidrug-resistant strains of the tuberculosis bug. Studies in healthy human volunteers have indicated that the drug is safe for humans to take, and further human studies are currently underway.
These findings, by Koen Andries of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, LLC in Beerse, Belgium and colleagues, will appear online in the 9 December Science Express, part of the journal Science, published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.