Publications by authors named "Drusano G"

, the causative agent of anthrax, is among the most likely bacterial pathogens to be used in a biological attack. Inhalation anthrax is a serious, life-threatening form of infection, and the mortality from acute inhaled anthrax can approach 100% if not treated early and aggressively. Food and Drug Administration-approved antibiotics indicated for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) or treatment of anthrax are limited.

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There is an unmet need for developing drugs for the treatment of gonorrhea, due to rapidly evolving resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae against antimicrobial drugs used for empiric therapy, an increase in globally reported multidrug resistant cases, and the limited available therapeutic options. Furthermore, few drugs are under development. Development of antimicrobials is hampered by challenges in clinical trial design, limitations of available diagnostics, changes in and varying standards of care, lack of robust animal models, and clinically relevant pharmacodynamic targets.

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Background: Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is threatening the gonorrhoea treatment, and optimizations of the current ceftriaxone-treatment regimens are crucial. We evaluated the pharmacodynamics of ceftriaxone single-dose therapy (0.125-1 g) against ceftriaxone-susceptible and ceftriaxone-resistant gonococcal strains, based on EUCAST ceftriaxone-resistance breakpoint (MIC > 0.

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Amikacin is an FDA-approved aminoglycoside antibiotic that is commonly used. However, validated dosage regimens that achieve clinically relevant exposure profiles in mice are lacking. We aimed to design and validate humanized dosage regimens for amikacin in immune-competent murine bloodstream and lung infection models of .

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Antimicrobial resistance in the sexually transmitted bacterium is compromising the management and control of gonorrhea globally. Optimized use and enhanced stewardship of current antimicrobials and development of novel antimicrobials are imperative. The first in class zoliflodacin (spiropyrimidinetrione, DNA Gyrase B inhibitor) is a promising novel antimicrobial in late-stage clinical development for gonorrhea treatment, i.

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Certain classes of antibiotics show "concentration dependent" antimicrobial activity; higher concentrations result in increased bacterial killing rates, in contrast to "time dependent antibiotics", which show antimicrobial activity that depends on the time that antibiotic concentrations remain above the MIC. Aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones are still widely used concentration-dependent antibiotics. These antibiotics are not hydrolyzed by beta-lactamases and are less sensitive to the inoculum effect, which can be defined as an increased MIC for the antibiotic in the presence of a relatively higher bacterial load (inoculum).

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Despite their limitations, the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) indices form the basis for our current understanding regarding antibiotic development, selection, and dose optimization. Application of PK-PD in medicine has been associated with better clinical outcome, suppression of resistance, and optimization of antibiotic consumption. Beta-lactam antibiotics remain the cornerstone for empirical and directed therapy in many patients.

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The host targeting antiviral, UV-4B, and the RNA polymerase inhibitor, molnupiravir, are two orally available, broad-spectrum antivirals that have demonstrated potent activity against SARS-CoV-2 as monotherapy. In this work, we evaluated the effectiveness of UV-4B and EIDD-1931 (molnupiravir's main circulating metabolite) combination regimens against the SARS-CoV-2 beta, delta, and omicron BA.2 variants in a human lung cell line.

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Seasonal influenza virus infections cause a substantial number of deaths each year. While zanamivir (ZAN) is efficacious against oseltamivir-resistant influenza strains, the efficacy of the drug is limited by its route of administration, oral inhalation. Herein, we present the development of a hydrogel-forming microneedle array (MA) in combination with ZAN reservoirs for treating seasonal influenza.

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Polymyxin B is a "last-line-of-defense" antibiotic approved in the 1960s. However, the population pharmacokinetics (PK) of its four main components has not been reported in infected mice. We aimed to determine the PK of polymyxin B1, B1-Ile, B2, and B3 in a murine bloodstream and lung infection model of Acinetobacter baumannii and develop humanized dosage regimens.

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The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in is seriously threatening the treatment and control of gonorrhea globally. Novel treatment options are essential, coupled with appropriate methods to pharmacodynamically examine the efficacy and resistance emergence of these novel drugs. Herein, we used our dynamic hollow fiber infection model (HFIM) to evaluate protein-unbound lefamulin, a semisynthetic pleuromutilin, against .

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Prior to his passing, Dr. Roger Jelliffe, expressed the need for educating future physicians and clinical pharmacists on the availability of computer-based tools to support dose optimization in patients in stable or unstable physiological states. His perspectives were to be captured in a commentary for the AAPS J with a focus on incorporating population pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) models that are designed to hit the therapeutic target with maximal precision.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has radically altered daily life. Effective antiviral therapies to combat COVID-19, especially severe disease, remain scarce. Molnupiravir is an antiviral that has shown clinical efficacy against mild-to-moderate COVID-19 but failed to provide benefit to hospitalized patients with severe disease.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) exists in various metabolic states, including a nonreplicating persister (NRP) phenotype which may affect response to therapy. We have adopted a model-informed strategy to accelerate discovery of effective Mtb treatment regimens and previously found pretomanid (PMD), moxifloxacin (MXF), and bedaquiline (BDQ) to readily kill logarithmic- and acid-phase Mtb. Here, we studied multiple concentrations of each drug in flask-based, time-kill studies against NRP Mtb in single-, two- and three-drug combinations, including the active M2 metabolite of BDQ.

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Novel antimicrobials for effective treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea are essential, and the first-in-class, oral spiropyrimidinetrione DNA gyrase B inhibitor zoliflodacin appears promising. Using our newly developed Hollow Fiber Infection Model (HFIM), the pharmacodynamics of zoliflodacin was examined. A clinical zoliflodacin-susceptible strain, SE600/18 (harbouring a GyrB S467N amino acid substitution; MIC = 0.

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In recent years, clofazimine (CFZ) has been regaining prominence for the treatment of tuberculosis. However, it shows limited efficacy as a single drug and optimal combination partners have not been identified. Therefore, the objective of our analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of CFZ-containing two-drug regimens with pretomanid (PMD), bedaquiline (BDQ) or linezolid (LZD) by: (i) determining their pharmacodynamic (PD) mode of interaction against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain H37Rv in log- phase and acid-phase metabolic states, and against Mtb strain 18b in a non-replicating persister (NRP) metabolic state; (ii) predicting bacterial cell kill of the drugs alone and in combination; and (iii) evaluating the relationship between the interaction mode and the extent of bacterial cell kill.

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The development of new antibiotics to treat infections caused by drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens is of paramount importance as antibiotic resistance continues to increase worldwide. Here we describe a strategy for the rational design of diazabicyclooctane inhibitors of penicillin-binding proteins from Gram-negative bacteria to overcome multiple mechanisms of resistance, including β-lactamase enzymes, stringent response and outer membrane permeation. Diazabicyclooctane inhibitors retain activity in the presence of β-lactamases, the primary resistance mechanism associated with β-lactam therapy in Gram-negative bacteria.

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Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) production in Gram-negative bacteria is an important contributor to β-lactam antibiotic resistance. Combining β-lactams with β-lactamase inhibitors (BLIs) is a validated route to overcoming resistance, but MBL inhibitors are not available in the clinic. On the basis of zinc utilization and sequence, MBLs are divided into three subclasses, B1, B2, and B3, whose differing active-site architectures hinder development of BLIs capable of "cross-class" MBL inhibition.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis metabolic state affects the response to therapy. Quantifying the effect of antimicrobials in the acid and nonreplicating metabolic phases of M. tuberculosis growth will help to optimize therapy for tuberculosis.

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Infections caused by multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria are a major public health threat. Carbapenems are among the most potent antimicrobial agents that are commercially available to treat MDR bacteria. Bacterial production of carbapenem-hydrolysing metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) challenges their safety and efficacy, with subclass B1 MBLs hydrolysing almost all β-lactam antibiotics.

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Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus is one of the most difficult pathogens to treat and its incidence in disease is increasing. Dual β-lactam combinations act synergistically in vitro but are not widely employed in practice.

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Dose range studies for polymyxin B (PMB) regimens of 0.75 to 12 mg/kg given every 12 h (q12h) were evaluated for bacterial killing and resistance prevention against an AmpC-overexpressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a -harboring Klebsiella pneumoniae in 10-day hollow-fiber models. An exposure-response was observed.

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Antimicrobial resistance in is threatening the treatment and control of gonorrhea globally, and new treatment options are imperative. Utilizing our dynamic hollow fiber infection model (HFIM), we examined the pharmacodynamics of the first-in-class spiropyrimidinetrione (DNA gyrase B inhibitors), zoliflodacin, against the reference strains World Health Organization F (susceptible to all relevant antimicrobials) and WHO X (extensively drug resistant, including resistance to ceftriaxone) over 7 days. Dose-range experiments with both strains, simulating zoliflodacin single oral dose regimens of 0.

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