Prof. Ivan Kocić, M.D., Ph.D. and Izabela Rusiecka, Ph.D. from the Department of Pharmacology at the Medical University of Gdańsk obtained a patent for the invention “New compounds of vancomycin and TP10, the method of their preparation, composition and use in antibacterial treatment”.
The subject of the invention is an innovative bioconjugate constituting a combination of a commonly known antibiotic, which is vancomycin, with a transporter protein — transportan 10 (Van-TP10). The project was created in cooperation between the Medical University of Gdańsk and the University of Gdańsk.
Vancomycin is an antibiotic applied to treat infections caused by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp. and Clostridium difficile. These infections often occur in people after a long hospital stay, chronic illness and a long period of receiving antibiotics. Particularly dangerous are infections located in the brain tissue, such as bacterial meningitis. The effectiveness of vancomycin is insufficient due to the increasing number of multidrug-resistant nosocomial bacterial strains. Therefore, there is a need for an antibiotic with better antibacterial effectiveness and good penetration of the brain tissue. These properties were achieved by conjugating vancomycin with transportan 10, which has antibacterial property and the ability to transport medications inside the cell. The creation of Van-TP10 conjugates improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties compared to the vancomycin alone, while maintaining low cellular toxicity. Van-TP10 conjugates show improved antimicrobial effects and low levels of toxicity against clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. The new conjugates may be helpful in the treatment of life-threatening infections, especially those located in the brain, and can therefore be used in the pharmaceutical industry as an alternative to the traditional vancomycin.
