It gathers where the infection hides: a remade antibiotic piles up in the lung, 300-fold

Some hospital pneumonias are caused by a stubborn germ, Acinetobacter, that shrugs off many of the antibiotics doctors rely on — leaving very ill patients, often on breathing machines, with few options. Two studies published today in leading peer-reviewed journals offer a reason for hope. BV100, a drip-in-the-vein form of the antibiotic rifabutin made by Basel company BioVersys, was given to 36 healthy volunteers: levels in lung fluid ran about 35 times higher than in blood, and inside the lung's own scavenger cells — exactly where this germ likes to hide — they ran more than 300 times higher. A second study found the drug mixes gently with other medicines, a real concern for patients already taking many drugs. The treatment was well tolerated, and a large final-stage trial in patients is already under way.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation