Developing new medicines for tuberculosis
Design, Syntheses and Studies of Novel Antituberculosis Agents
New drug chemicals are being developed to treat people with tuberculosis, including strains that no longer respond to current medicines.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Notre Dame NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Notre Dame, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11141144 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are designing and making new antibiotic molecules that target key proteins in the tuberculosis bacterium. They test these compounds in laboratory dishes and in animal models to see which ones kill drug-resistant TB and reach the lungs. The team has promising candidates with good activity against MDR and XDR strains and is studying how the drugs behave in blood and lung tissue. Work is being done at the University of Notre Dame to advance the best compounds toward safety testing and eventual human trials.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Future human trials would most likely include people with active pulmonary tuberculosis, especially those whose infections do not respond to current treatments.
Not a fit: People without active TB (for example those with latent infection) or those already cured by standard therapy are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this preclinical work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these new drugs could offer effective treatment options for people with multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB.
How similar studies have performed: Antibiotic discovery efforts have produced important TB drugs before, but these specific compound classes are relatively new and early-stage with promising lab and animal results yet to be proven in humans.
Where this research is happening
Notre Dame, United States
- University of Notre Dame — Notre Dame, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Miller, Marvin J — University of Notre Dame
- Study coordinator: Miller, Marvin J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.