The American Lung Association will match your donation!

Dr. Mary Ann DeGroote’s research in the first year of the study has shown some very promising results!  “This preliminary data is exciting and will allow us to apply for bigger grants,” DeGroote said.  “Without this project we wouldn’t have been able to do that.  This has been invaluable. These are real-life preclinical tests that will inform physicians about what to do in the future.”

NTMir must provide $30,000 for year 2 of the study. Please donate today to help us meet this goal so Dr. DeGroote can continue with this important research.

The Scientist

Mary Ann DeGroote, MD is an infectious disease physician/researcher at Colorado State University.  She leads the research team performing the NTMir/American Lung Association co-funded three year study testing various substances for potential development into a new drug to treat M. abscessus.  The study began in June 2009 and will end in May 2012.  Again this year, NTMir will provide $30,000 in funding for the research, and ALA will match it!!

The Study

One of the first steps of the study entailed acquiring large collections of “compounds,” substances made in a laboratory but not used for any specific disease, or existing drugs currently in use but not FDA-approved to treat NTM.

Tests showed that some existing drugs work well against M. abscessus.  The drugs, however, have unwanted side effects.  Researchers may be able to slightly modify the drugs, making them stronger and less toxic, “removing unwanted properties.”  A third drug did not work against M. abscessus in initial testing, but it is possible that it may work in concert with other drugs; the team will test this in the next year of the study.

NTMs are all cousins of tuberculosis; this makes testing drugs with TB activity very important.  A fourth compound, known to work well against TB, “worked really well in the lab.  It was one of the best compounds at inhibiting M. abscessus that we saw.  But does it actually kill the bacteria, or just put them to sleep? We have to perform further testing,” DeGroote explained.

Initial testing has shown approximately 12 – 20 new compounds and existing drugs that had good activity against M. abscessus.

In the Coming Year

DeGroote’s team will need to retest the 12 – 20 compounds to confirm that they really do work against M. abscessus.  Verifying results is an important scientific step.  Then they will test the compounds to ensure they are not too toxic.

Next the team will test the compounds against multiple M. abscessus strains to make sure they are broadly acting on all strains, and will test the activity on germs such as staph, E. coli and yeast to determine the spectrum of activity.  If a compound works against one of these more common germs, pharmaceutical companies may then be interested in bringing the drug to market.

Finally, the compound’s dosage needs to be determined – how many times per day, what amount, and what concentration would be established.  DeGroote’s team would also test to find out if the compound works well with or badly when taken in conjunction with other existing drugs.

Please donate today to so Dr. DeGroote can continue with this important research.