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Breakdown in bacterial communication

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a much-feared hospital germ. It can cause dangerous infections, is extremely resilient, and has acquired multiple resistance as a result of its extensive presence in the hospital environment, so that available antibiotics are frequently ineffective against it. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, a subsidiary institute of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), are therefore developing a drug that fights this bacterium in an unusual way. By blocking the quorum sensing system, the drug interferes with bacterial communication. The bacteria are not destroyed, but rather prevented from forming protective biofilms and producing virulence factors, thus losing their ability to cause disease. In contrast to classical antibiotics, there is no danger of resistance developing, because the new drug does not interfere with any vital bacterial processes. In 2017, the project received a grant of around EUR 390,000 from the LifeScience Foundation. This enabled the financing of key services required in the run-up to preclinical development and was a prerequisite for raising further urgently needed funding.

(Annual Review 2017)