Singapore researchers make advance in fighting resistant superbugs

A team from Singapore’s A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) and the National University Hospital (NUH) has discovered new ways to enhance the efficacy of drugs used to treat respiratory system infections and antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

The team, led by Desmond Heng of the ICES, has developed a new combination of drugs to effectively combat bacteria in the lungs which lead to common respiratory system infections, or bacteria-linked pulmonary diseases such as pneumonia, bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis.

An acute upper respiratory tract infection, which includes the common flu, was reported to be among the top four conditions diagnosed at polyclinics for eight consecutive years, from 2006 to 2013. Pneumonia on the other hand, was the second leading cause of death in 2012, contributing to 16.8 per cent of the total number of deaths from illnesses behind cancer.