The research assessed the ability of certain peptides (small portions of proteins) identified at Cangene to inhibit surgical wound infections by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
Often referred to as “staph” infections, these bacteria have become a serious problem in healthcare settings where increasing resistance to the antibiotic, methicillin, has made these infections intractable.
Methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus infections has increased from 2% in 1974 to 63% in 2004, making the development of treatments with new mechanisms of action critical to the healthcare environment.
Unlike antibiotics that directly inhibit bacterial growth or destroy the cells, Cangene’s peptides may function by enhancing the patient’s own immune system so that it can clear an infection. Treatment with the peptides was highly effective in reducing both the number of Staphylococcus aureus cells found at the wound site and the associated inflammation they cause.
“This could be an extremely important development. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections are a major contributor to the billions of dollars spent each year by the US healthcare system due to hospital-based infections,” said Dr John Langstaff, Cangene’s president and CEO.