A research team from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is examining the critical lack of knowledge about cefiderocol resistance.

Cefiderocol is an antibiotic designed to treat complicated urinary tract infections, hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-acquired bacterial pneumonia, and other infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. It is administered intravenously.

En Huang, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Fay W. Boozman College of UAMS, leads an interdisciplinary research team that will conduct the project “Mechanisms of Cefiderocol Nonsusceptibility and Evolution of resistance in carbapenem-resistant pathogens. .”

The research involves a collaborative effort with microbiologists Sun Hee Moon, Ph.D. and Lu Huang, Ph.D., bioinformatician Se-Ran Jun, Ph.D., as well as clinicians Mitchell Jenkins, MD, and Ryan Dare, MD.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/National Institute of Health (NIH) is funding the research to the tune of $3.6 million. The study began in September and continues until August 2029.

“The goal of this study is to understand if some bacteria are already resistant to cefiderocol, even if they have never been treated with this drug before. We will also look at how bacteria develop resistance after being exposed to the antibiotic,” Huang said. “We will study how bacteria become resistant to cefiderocol by studying them in the laboratory, examining their DNA and examining their genetic makeup.

“Without a deeper understanding of how resistance develops, we cannot create effective strategies to combat these resistant bacteria. Antibiotic resistance limits the options available to doctors to effectively treat various infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly 3 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths. Huang noted that properly addressing the knowledge gap on antibiotic resistance requires a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach.

A higher volume of in-depth studies will help researchers and healthcare professionals fully understand the underlying mechanisms of cefiderocol resistance. Additionally, better understanding how resistance develops will also help healthcare providers make more informed decisions about when to prescribe certain antibiotics.

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