Resistant Bacteria, Beware
1
Alma Goldstein, microbiologist at Ab- bott Labs, first isolated ristocetin (called Spontin by Abbott) from a sample of soil she brought from the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colo. ( below ) RESEARCH Resistant Bacteria, Beware After three years of clinical testing, Abbott intro- duces Spontin, a potent new antibiotic .ABBOTT LABS HAS A NEW WEAPON on the market against bacteria that are resistant to conventional antibiotics. It's the new antibiotic, ristocetin or Spontin (C&EN, Nov. 25, page 21). It's effective against staphylococci, streptococci, pneumonococci, and other gram-positive bacteria. At the start the drug generally will be used only where other antibiotics fail. But Abbott believes that when the drug is better known by physicians it will be prescribed initially. Of course, the physician who is accus- tomed to prescribing tablets may pre- fer to use some other drug, because Spontin must be given intravenously. For this reason it will be used primarily in hospitals. It could also be ad- ministered in a doctor's office. Where other antibiotics fail, Spontin could be a life-saving drug. • Vacation Discovery. Spontin was discovered by an Abbott micro- biologist who just couldn't forget her work even while on vacation. Several years ago, on a trip to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado, Alma Goldstein dug up a few samples of earth and brought them back to the Abbott labs. From one of these samples, she isolated Spontin. In the five years since then, over 40 Abbott microbiologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, and physicians have helped develop the drug. John C. Sylvester, director of microbiologic re- search, estimates that Abbott re- searchers examined at least half a mil- lion microorganisms from soil samples before finding Spontin. The new drug is a mixture of two components, ristocetins A and B. These unusually complex materials have molecular weights of about 4000. As yet, their chemical structure has only been partially determined. A consider- able amount of work is being done in this area, however. Abbott researchers are also attempting to find out whether some small segment of these molecules is actually the active component. • Production Problems. The new antibiotic is isolated from a fermenta- tion broth of Nocardia lurida, a new species of actinomycetes. The nutrient material is similar to that used in mak- ing penicillin and other antibiotics. Abbott says its production problems on the new drug are now largely solved. A big hurdle at first was finding an effective way oi purifying the product. According to Abbott, the new drug, unlike many other antibiotics, destroys disease-causing bacteria. A number of other antibiotics merely halt then- growth. Spontin's bacteria-destroying action may be a reason why bacteria only rarely become resistant to the drug. As a further advantage, hundreds of bacteria have no natural resistance to Spontin. Several investigators find that Spon- tin gives good responses in humans, even though in test-tube experiments the drug may be relatively ineffective. Apparently, the gamma globulin in the blood improves Spontin's action. The drug is normally administered only through the vein, rather than orally or intramuscularly. Except in cases where Spontin is used to destroy bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, it is not given orally. Reason: It is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the blood stream. It is also not given intramuscularly because this type of injection can be quite painful. Abbott says intravenous injection is really not a significant drawback since most patients taking the drug have serious disorders and are hospitalized anyway. The company, however, is attempting to develop intramuscular and oral forms of the drug, possibly by producing salt or ester derivatives. For the past three years, Spontin has been available on a limited scale for clinical testing only. It was recently given FDA approval and is being made available first to hospitals. In the near future, as supplies increase, it is ex- pected to be available on prescription in drug stores. 46 C&EN DEC. 2, 1957
Transcript of Resistant Bacteria, Beware
Alma Goldstein, microbiologist a t Abbott L a b s , first isolated ristocetin (called Spontin by Abbot t ) from a sample of soil she brought from t h e Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colo. ( below )
RESEARCH
Resistant Bacteria, Beware After three years of clinical testing, Abbott introduces Spontin, a potent new antibiotic
. A B B O T T L A B S HAS A NEW WEAPON on the market against bacteria tha t are resistant to conventional antibiotics. It 's the new antibiotic, ristocetin or Spontin (C&EN, Nov. 25, page 21) . It 's effective against staphylococci, streptococci, pneumonococci, and other gram-positive bacteria.
At the start the drug generally will b e used only where other antibiotics fail. But Abbot t believes that when the drug is be t te r known by physicians it will be prescribed initially. Of course, the physician who is accustomed t o prescribing tablets may prefer t o use some other drug, because Spontin must be given intravenously. For this reason it will be used primarily in hospitals . It could also b e administered in a doctor's office. Where other antibiotics fail, Spontin could be a life-saving drug.
• Vaca t ion Discovery. Spontin was discovered by an Abbott microbiologist who just couldn't forget her work even while on vacation. Several years ago, on a trip to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado, Alma Goldstein dug up a few samples of earth and brought them back to the Abbott labs. From one of these samples, she isolated Spontin.
I n the five years since then, over 40 Abbott microbiologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, and physicians have helped develop the drug. John C. Sylvester, director of microbiologic research, estimates that Abbott researchers examined at least half a million microorganisms from soil samples before finding Spontin.
T h e new drug is a mixture of two components, ristocetins A and B. These unusually complex materials have molecular weights of about 4000. As yet, their chemical structure has only been partially determined. A considerable amount of work is being done in this area, however. Abbott researchers are also at tempting to find out whether some small segment of these molecules is actually the active component.
• Production Problems. The new antibiotic is isolated from a fermentation broth of Nocardia lurida, a new species of actinomycetes. The nutrient material is similar to that used in making penicillin and other antibiotics. Abbott says its production problems on the new drug are now largely solved. A big hurdle at first was finding an effective way oi purifying the product .
According to Abbott, the new drug, unlike many other antibiotics, destroys disease-causing bacteria. A number of other antibiotics merely halt then-growth. Spontin's bacteria-destroying action may be a reason why bacteria only rarely become resistant to the drug. As a further advantage, hundreds of bacteria have no natural resistance to Spontin.
Several investigators find that Spontin gives good responses in humans , even though in test-tube experiments the drug may be relatively ineffective. Apparently, the gamma globulin in the blood improves Spontin's action.
The drug is normally administered only through the vein, ra ther than orally or intramuscularly. Except in cases where Spontin is used to destroy bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, it is not given orally. Reason: I t is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal t rac t into the blood stream. It is also not given intramuscularly because this type of injection can be quite painful.
Abbott says intravenous injection is really not a significant drawback since most patients taking the drug have serious disorders and are hospitalized anyway. The company, however, is at tempting to develop intramuscular and oral forms of the drug, possibly by producing salt or ester derivatives.
For the past three years, Spontin has been available on a limited scale for clinical testing only. It was recently given FDA approval and is being m a d e available first to hospitals. In the near future, as supplies increase, i t is expected to be available on prescription in drug stores.
4 6 C & E N DEC. 2, 1957
