Greenwich-based pharmaceutical services company Aptuit LLC is collaborating with the Molecular Surgical Laboratory of Massachusetts General Hospital to identify and validate novel targets in Gram-negative bacteria, thus addressing antibiotic resistance in the treatment of serious infections.
Gram-negative bacteria are those that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Examples of such bacteria include E. coli, neisseria gonorrhoeae (responsible for gonorrhea) and chlamydia trachomatis, which can cause chlamydia, trachoma, cervicitis and a number of other disorders.
“This is an extremely promising area of research into antimicrobial resistance,” said Antonio Felici, director and head of Aptuit’s microbiology unit. “Aptuit will provide expertise in integrated anti-infective drug discovery to MGH.”
Laurence Rahme, associate professor of surgery, microbiology and immunobiology at Harvard Medical School and director of the MGH Molecular Surgical Laboratory, said: “The academic collaboration with Aptuit, and in particular with its highly qualified anti-infective group, will maximize our success in developing highly innovative alternative therapies against multi-drug resistant pathogens, including those that are highly tolerant to all existing antibiotic therapies.”
Aptuit will provide expertise in integrated infectious disease discovery, including in vitro and in vivo capabilities, complementing the Rahme Lab scientific platform and expertise in the field of anti-virulence research, according to a press release.
