SMART researchers develop novel combination bacterium- and host-targeted therapy for treating vancomycin-resistant bacterial infections

Researchers from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and University of Geneva, have developed a novel combination therapy using an anticancer agent, mitoxantrone (MTX), together with an antibiotic, vancomycin, for treating bacteria that are resistant to the vancomycin, which is also known as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE). The therapy uniquely targets both VRE and the host, stimulating the host immune system to more effectively clear bacterial infections and accelerate infected wound healing.