RESEARCHERS have used artificial intelligence (AI) to discover a new antibiotic that can kill a deadly species of superbug.
The AI helped narrow down thousands of potential chemicals to a handful that could be tested in the laboratory, BBC has reported.
The result was a potent, experimental antibiotic called abaucin, which will need further tests before being used.
The UK McMaster University researchers focused on one of the most problematic species of bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, which can infect wounds and cause pneumonia.
To find a new antibiotic, the researchers first had to train the AI.
They took thousands of drugs where the precise chemical structure was known and manually tested them on Acinetobacter baumannii to see which could slow it down or kill it.
This information was fed into the AI so it could learn the chemical features of drugs that could attack the problematic bacterium.
The AI was then unleashed on a list of 6,680 compounds whose effectiveness was unknown.
The results, published in Nature Chemical Biology, showed it took the AI only an hour and a half to produce a shortlist.
The researchers tested 240 in the laboratory and found nine potential antibiotics.
One of them was the incredibly potent antibiotic abaucin.
Laboratory experiments showed it could treat infected wounds in mice and was able to kill A. baumannii samples from patients.
The researchers said the next step is to perfect the drug in the lab and then perform clinical trials.
The first AI antibiotics could take until 2030 when they are available to be prescribed.
The scientists will next look at Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 29 May 23
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 29 May 23
