One million euros for the development of new strategies against multidrug-resistant germs
Stephan A. Sieber receives Future Insight Prize
The discovery of antibiotics has saved millions of human lives. However, in the meantime more and more bacteria have developed resistances to conventional antibiotics. Accordingly research by Stephan A. Sieber, TUM Professor for Organic Chemistry, centers on the development of strategies against this kind of resistant bacteria.
One of Stephan Sieber's central strategies is to look for new potential targets within the bacterial metabolism. Working together with his team he identifies the proteins which are essential to the bacteria's survival. If one of these proteins could be deactivated, it would be possible to starve the bacteria to death.
Another strategy is to prevent the ability of dangerous bacteria to produce toxins. The bacteria would then simply be "disarmed". Since this process does not kill the bacteria, the strategy also avoids the development of resistances.
From cancer medication to antibiotic
“Another highly promising strategy is to take medications that have already been approved and test them for possible efficacy against bacteria. Here we focus on a class of human proteins referred to as kinases for which there are already a very large number of inhibitors," says Stephan Sieber.
In this context they have been successful with the active ingredient PK 150, a modification of the cancer medication Sorafenib. It attacks methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) germs in two ways at once: It impedes the bacterial energy metabolism while at the same time rupturing the cell walls.
"The fact that PK 150 addresses two different mechanisms in the cell at the same time makes it very difficult for the bacteria to develop resistances," says Stephan Sieber. "The probability that two mutations will take place in the same cell at exactly the right places is much lower."
One million euros for expansion of research
The Merck Future Insight Prize promotes outstanding scientific and technological research activities for groundbreaking innovations in the fields Health, Nutrition and Energy. It comes with a 1 million euro cash award.
Stephan Sieber plans to invest the prize money in further development of the active ingredient PK 150. Initial preclinical studies are already in progress. "This support will now let us investigate the efficacy of PK 150 against other types of bacteria as well, for example mycobacteria or dangerous Gram-negative bacteria."
"Only thanks to research and innovative solutions will we be able to win the fight against antimicrobial resistance globally. I cordially congratulate Prof. Stephan Sieber on his work. And it is my wish to see many scientists and companies engage in this vital field of health research," said Jens Spahn, German Federal Minister of Health, in his speech to honor Sieber.
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
- Dr. Andreas Battenberg
- battenberg@tum.de
- presse@tum.de
- Teamwebsite
Contacts to this article:
Prof. Dr. Stephan A. Sieber
Professorship of Organic Chemistry II
Technical University of Munich
Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany
Tel.: +49 89 289 13302 - E-mail: stephan.sieber@tum.de
