New Compound Shown to Be as Effective as FDA: Dr. Neetu Dayal

By 121 News

Chandigarh 19th July:- Former NIPER, Mohali graduate student Dr. Neetu Dayal, is proud to be part of the team who have identified a new compound that in preliminary testing has shown itself to be as effective as antibiotics approved by Food and Drug Administration to treat life-threatening infections while also appearing to be less susceptible to bacterial resistance. The identified compound, called F6, has been potent against antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is often found in hospitals and other healthcare settings, and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), with vancomycin long considered a drug of last resort. The compound was tested against clinical isolates, and when tried to force bacterial resistance on F6, no bacterial resistance found. Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health crisis. The World Health Organization has deemed antibiotic resistance one of the three greatest threats to human health because bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant and too few treatments are being developed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that at least 2 million people a year in the United States become infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die a year as a result. Studies have estimated that drug-resistant infections could be responsible for 10 million deaths a year worldwide by 2050. As a synthetic chemist in the team, her research work broadly includes to design and synthesize novel molecules as a potential antibacterial and an anticancer drug candidate. Currently focused on pharmacokinetic properties of the molecules to improve the bioavailability and to make derivatives of F6 to see if they might be even more effective. Besides, she is actively engaged in developing novel molecules as kinase inhibitors.

Dr. Neetu Dayal received her Ph.D. from the NIPER Mohali in 2016 after completing her thesis research on palladium-catalyzed convergent synthesis of fused nitrogen heterocycles in Dr. J. K. Laha's Lab. She is currently working as a post-doctoral research associate in Dr. Sintim Lab at the Purdue Univerisity, West Lafayette, United states.