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Dr. Jitendra Singh announces soft launch of India’s First Indigenous Antibiotic, Nafithromycin, to Combat Drug Resistance.
Read about antibiotic resistance: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/antibiotics-resistance
Features of Nafithromycin
Feature |
Details |
Developer |
Developed with support from Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) by Wockhardt. |
Trade Name |
Miqnaf. |
Target Condition |
Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP) especially drug-resistant strains. Read about pneumonia: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/walking-pneumonia |
Mechanism of Action |
Targets both typical and atypical pathogens effectively. |
Efficacy |
Ten times more effective than azithromycin; minimal gastrointestinal side effects. |
Safety and Versatility |
Fewer drug interactions and unaffected by food consumption. |
Global Milestone |
First in its class developed globally in over 30 years. |
Support Mechanism |
BIRAC’s Biotechnology Industry Partnership Program (BIPP) |
CABP affects vulnerable populations including children, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. India bears 23% of the global pneumonia burden, necessitating new solutions.
AMR poses a global health crisis reducing the effectiveness of traditional antibiotics. Nafithromycin’s innovative design overcomes existing resistance mechanisms.
Reduces treatment duration, hospitalization costs and side effects.
Expected to save countless lives worldwide especially in resource-constrained settings.
The Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) was launched on 5th December, 2008. BIPP is a government partnership with Industries for support on a cost sharing basis for path-breaking research in frontier futuristic technology areas having major economic potential and making the Indian industry globally competitive.
It is focused on IP creation with ownership retained by Indian industry and wherever relevant, by collaborating scientists.
a.) Drugs including drug Delivery,
b.) Vaccines and clinical trials,
c.) Biosimilars & stem cells,
d.) Devices & Diagnostics,
e.) Agriculture,
f.) Industrial Biotechnology including Secondary Agriculture and
g.) Bioinformatics & facilities that virtually cover every aspect of Biotechnology.
BIPP is an Advanced Technology Scheme only for high risk, transformational technology/ process development.
Support for high risk, accelerated technology development especially in futuristic technologies.
Support for very high risk, nationally and socially relevant areas, with no assured market. This would be more of translational research in such cases. It is envisaged that public institutes would be useful partners, so that the basic R&D leads can be translated to product development by the industry.
Provides for product evaluation and validation through support for limited and large scale field trial for agriculture products and clinical trials (Phase I, II, III) for health care products.
Supporting research project for novel IP generation.
BIPP covers four broad categories (I, II, III & IV) as described below:
Category I: Areas with major social relevance but uncertain market driven demand
Category II: High risk, discovery and innovation research with relevance for making India globally competitive
Category III A: Evaluation & validation of already existing products of high national importance promoting local innovation (Clinical Trials)
Category III B: Evaluation & validation of already existing products of high national importance promoting local innovation (Agriculture Field Trials)
Category IV: Shared cost major facilities, critical for enabling innovation
Characteristic |
Details |
Definition |
Chemical substances that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. |
Discovery |
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, marking the antibiotic era. |
Sources |
Naturally occurring (e.g., penicillin from fungi), synthetic, or semi-synthetic. |
Target specificity |
Effective against bacteria, with minimal harm to human cells. |
Broad-spectrum |
Effective against a wide range of bacteria (e.g., tetracycline). |
Narrow-spectrum |
Effective against specific types of bacteria (e.g., vancomycin). |
Classification |
Example |
Mechanism of Action |
By Mechanism of Action |
||
Cell wall synthesis inhibitors |
Penicillin, Vancomycin |
Prevent bacteria from forming cell walls, leading to lysis. |
Protein synthesis inhibitors |
Tetracycline, Chloramphenicol |
Disrupt ribosomal function, halting protein production. |
DNA/RNA synthesis inhibitors |
Ciprofloxacin, Rifampin |
Block bacterial DNA replication or transcription. |
Metabolic pathway inhibitors |
Sulfonamides, Trimethoprim |
Interfere with folic acid synthesis, vital for bacterial growth. |
By Spectrum of Activity |
||
Broad-spectrum |
Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin |
Target a variety of bacterial strains. |
Narrow-spectrum |
Isoniazid, Polymyxins |
Target specific bacterial strains. |
Inhibition of Cell Wall Synthesis
Prevents bacterial cell wall formation.
Examples: β-lactams (penicillin), glycopeptides (vancomycin).
Inhibition of Protein Synthesis
Targets bacterial ribosomes (50S or 30S subunits).
Examples: Macrolides, aminoglycosides.
Inhibition of Nucleic Acid Synthesis
Disrupts bacterial DNA replication or transcription.
Examples: Fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin).
Disruption of Membrane Integrity
Damages bacterial cell membranes, causing leakage.
Examples: Polymyxins.
Metabolic Inhibition
Blocks essential metabolic pathways like folic acid synthesis.
Examples: Sulfa drugs.
Sources:
PRACTICE QUESTION Q:Consider the following statements regarding antibiotics:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, and 3 Answer: (b) Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect. Antibiotics are specifically effective against bacterial infections. They do not work against viral infections (e.g., influenza) or fungal infections (e.g., candidiasis). Statement 2 is correct. Misuse of antibiotics such as overuse or improper use (e.g., not completing the prescribed course) contributes to the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This is a global health crisis where common bacteria become resistant to existing drugs. Statement 3 is correct. Nafithromycin is India’s first indigenous antibiotic aimed at combating drug-resistant pneumonia developed with support from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). It represents a major step forward in addressing AMR. |
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