New antibiotics capable of killing drug-resistant gonorrhoea are developed... by AI
Experts believe that Artificial Intelligence could signify a 'second golden age' of antibiotic discovery, after creating two drugs that could be capable of killing superbugs such as gonorrhea and MRSA.
Led by Professor James Collins at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a specialist research team used generative AI algorithms to interrogate 36million compounds.
The experts then trained the AI to help it learn how bacteria was affected by different molecular structures built of atoms in order to design new antibiotics.
In order to do this, they gave it the chemical structure of known compounds and data on their ability to hinder the growth of different bacteria species.
Throughout the study, published in the journal Cell, anything too similar to the current antibiotics available, or with the potential to be toxic to human beings, was eradicated.
Scientists also had to ensure that the system was indeed creating medicine, rather than soap.
Two approaches were then attempted to help design antibiotics with AI - the first searching through millions of chemical fragments, while the other allowed AI to control the process entirely.
The result was innovative AI-generated drugs for both the sexually transmitted infection and possibly life-threatening MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
Both were found to be capable of killing the superbugs in laboratory and animal tests.
It marks a significant move in the use of AI among researchers hoping to combat the rise in deaths caused by an overuse of antibiotics.
The bacteria-fighting medicines are crucial for clearing infections and preventing life-threatening complications. However, hard-to-treat cases are on the rise as the bacteria that cause them are becoming increasingly impervious to the drugs.
At least one million annual deaths due to antibiotic resistance have been recorded globally since 1990, according to the University of Oxford.
Over the past decade, the NHS has made a concerted effort to reduce the number of antibiotic prescriptions given to patients, in order to slow the spread of superbugs.
Yet 37 million prescriptions were written in the UK in 2023, compared to 36 million in 2022 and 31 million in 2020, official figures show.
However, clinical trials and a further refinement of the possible drugs, estimated to take between one and two years, will be required before the drugs can be prescribed.
WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE?
Bacteria can become drug resistant when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics or if they are given out unnecessarily.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously warned if nothing is done the world is heading for a 'post-antibiotic' era.
Bacteria can become drug resistant when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics or if they are given out unnecessarily.
Former chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies claimed in 2016 that the threat of antibiotic resistance is as severe as terrorism.
Dr Andrew Edwards, from the Fleming Initiative and Imperial College London, told the BBC that the work has 'enormous potential' and indicates a 'novel approach to identifying new antibiotics'.
Meanwhile, Professor Chris Dawson, from the University of Warwick, said that the drugs could mark a 'significant step forward as a tool for antibiotic discovery'.
However, Professor Collins warned that 'better models' are still required for AI to truly help tackle drug-resistant infections.
Other concerns raised by medical experts included how complex the AI-designs are to manufacture, with just two drugs created out of 80 initial designs.
Meanwhile, a new antibiotic designed to treat drug-resistant infections would ideally be used as little as possible in order to ensure its success.
This, therefore, raises questions about the likelihood of a commercial profit being possible.
In 2024, an estimated 71,802 people were diagnosed with gonorrhoea, according to government figures.
Meanwhile, 910 cases of MRSA were recorded across England from 2023 to 2024, marking an increase of 15.6 per cent from 2022 to 2023.
While MRSA can live harmlessly on the skin, the bacteria has the potential to become deadly if it enters the body.
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