India’s new drugs will fight deadly ‘superbugs’

India is among the countries most severely impacted by antibiotic-resistant infections, with an estimated 300,000 deaths and 60,000 neonatal deaths in 2019. New drugs show promise in combating antibiotic-resistant pathogens while maintaining last-resort treatments. Enmetazobactam is the first antimicrobial invented in India to receive the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Used to treat severe conditions, this drug targets bacteria’s defence mechanisms rather than eradicating them. This preserves the efficacy of other antibiotics, including carbapenems, which serve as a dependable ‘final resort’ treatment option. A Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company is testing a new antibiotic for drug-resistant infections called Zaynich, entering the final stages of testing and expected to launch next year, just to name a few. The most common pathogens within the country are currently Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, followed by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumanni, a 2023 drug resistance surveillance report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed. Bacteria can evolve in a matter of hours, so a holistic approach is needed to fight them. This includes improving water, sanitation, and hygiene, getting more people vaccinated, strengthening hospital infection control policies, educating doctors, and deterring self-medication, according to ICMR experts.