Photodisinfection technology shows great promise as a new method for fighting drug-resistant infections amidst rising rates of antimicrobial resistance.

Ondine Biomedical, Inc. (LON:OBI): Canadian life sciences company, Ondine Biomedical, presented new research at the Infection Prevention Society Conference (IPS) in Bournemouth, UK (17^th October) showing that its photodisinfection technology is highly effective against clinical MRSA isolates exhibiting multidrug-resistance. With more than a quarter of people colonized with Staphylococcus aureus in the nose and some of these carrying the MRSA type, there remains an unmet need for new therapies. Few new antibiotics are under development and alternative means of killing drug-resistant infections must be found. Light-activated compounds may provide an answer.  

This new research was conducted using 100 recent multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates obtained from patients presenting to a large tertiary care hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each isolate was selected for resistance to one or more major classes of antibiotics in widespread use today, and then subjected to Steriwave photodisinfection in vitro. The study found that the photodisinfection treatment eliminated more than 99.9% of each isolate in only 60 seconds, irrespective of the isolate’s antibiotic resistance.

“Antibiotic resistance is one of the most dangerous developments in clinical medicine,” stated Ondine Biomedical’s VP, Medical and Clinical Affairs, Jason Hickok, RN. “Over 200 Americans and 78 Britons die each day from an untreatable hospital-acquired infection, and hundreds of patients more suffer from comorbidities and disfigurements of lifesaving revision surgeries and associated treatment. When we lose the antibiotic, we return to a way of life almost a century ago, where a scratched knee, or a minor burn could prove lethal. This research demonstrates the power of Steriwave photodisinfection, a modern photonic solution to topical disinfection without using antibiotics, without engendering resistance, and without causing pain or side effects to the patient.”

Photodisinfection, also known as antimicrobial photodisinfection therapy (aPDT), combines a photosensitive compound with a specific wavelength of light. When illuminated, the photosensitiser forms reactive oxygen species that are highly destructive to bacteria, viruses, and fungi.  Since photodisinfection is not an antibiotic it does not cause antibiotic resistance, making it an ideal technology to avoid overuse of antibiotics.

Pathogens that have developed resistance to antimicrobials are a significant global health challenge, and new solutions are desperately needed to combat them. An analysis published in the Lancet in 2022 found that 1.27 million deaths in 2019 were the direct result of drug-resistant bacterial infections, exceeding the number of deaths from malaria or AIDS.[i]

Ondine’s nasal photodisinfection technology has a CE mark for use in the EU and is approved in Canada and number of other countries, including the UK. In the United States, Ondine recently completed a Phase 2 trial, forming part of the Company’s US FDA regulatory application.

A copy of the full research poster “Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy Against Clinical Isolates of MRSA” can be downloaded here.

[i] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext