Patent for the Van-TP10 conjugate

9.03.2023

Researchers from the MUG’s Department of Pharmacology: Unit’s Head Prof. Ivan Kocić and Izabela Rusiecka, Ph.D. obtained a patent for the invention New vancomycin and TP10 compounds, method of their preparation, composition and use in antibacterial treatment. The subject of the invention is an innovative bioconjugate being a combination of a well-known antibiotic, which is vancomycin, with a transport protein – transportan 10 (Van-TP10). The project was created in cooperation between the Medical University of Gdańsk and the University of Gdańsk.

Vancomycin is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp. and Clostridium difficile. These infections are common in people with long hospital stays, chronic illnesses, and long periods of antibiotic use. Particularly dangerous are infections located in the brain tissue, such as bacterial meningitis. The effectiveness of vancomycin is insufficient due to the increasing number of multidrug-resistant strains of nosocomial bacteria. This results in an increasing demand for an antibiotic with better antibacterial effectiveness and good penetration into brain tissue.

The scientists of our University managed to achieve these properties by conjugating vancomycin with transportan 10, which has an antibacterial effect and the ability to transport drugs inside the cell. The creation of Van-TP10 conjugates improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties compared to vancomycin alone while maintaining low cellular toxicity. Van-TP10 conjugates show superior antibacterial effects and a low level of toxicity against clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. The new conjugates may prove helpful in the treatment of life-threatening infections, especially those located in the brain, and therefore could be used as drugs in the pharmaceutical industry as an alternative to traditional vancomycin.