Tuberculosis (TB) poses significant risk to mankind with nearly 8 million people contracting TB and 3 million people dying from it each year. A TB epidemic is becoming more dangerous because of the emergence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and the lack of effective new drugs. The main goal of Natural Drug Services is to develop and commercialize a new anti-tuberculosis compound, Mycobactocid (MCB). MCB belongs to a new class of chemical compounds, has low toxicity in mice and is effective against strains of tuberculosis resistant to the known anti-tuberculosis agents. The specific aims of this project include:1) evaluation of the anti-tuberculosis activity of MCB in standard, well-characterized in vitro and in vivo models and, 2) compare it to other regimens of treatment. Previous studies indicate that MCB has potent specific activity against M. tuberculosis, low toxicity, and is effective against multi-drug resistant strains. Further study of MCB will facilitate commercialization of this novel class of compounds for treatment of tuberculosis. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Tuberculosis claims three million lives a year world-wide and reached epidemic proportions in the US, with outbreaks of drug-resistent strains in several cities. The compound under investigation. Mycobactocid, has high specific activity against M. tuberculosis, low toxicity and is active against the resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. The specific goal of this project is to develop preclinical data to facilitate evaluation in human clinical trials and ultimately lead to a commercial product.
