Canadian life sciences company Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON: OBI) will present results from a new in vitro study at the IP2023 Annual Conference taking place in Liverpool from 17-19 October 2023. The study evaluated the efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT, also known as photodisinfection) against multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria. IP2023 is organized by the Infection Prevention Society and is the largest annual infection prevention conference in the UK and Ireland.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains a major public health concern, causing 33,000 deaths in Europe annually.[i] There are widespread multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) infections in Europe, mainly caused by Gram-negative bacteria including Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa AMR bacteria[ii]^,[iii] and Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus spp.[iv]

Photodisinfection uses a photosensitizer and a specific wavelength of light to trigger photochemical reactions that produce reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species are lethal to a broad spectrum of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Importantly, photodisinfection does not induce antimicrobial resistance formation.

Photodisinfection is an easy-to-use alternative to topical antibiotics and antifungals because it is highly effective against all types of disease-causing pathogens, including MDR and XDR strains.

The poster presentation, “Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy Against Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) Gram Negative Isolates With Novel Antibiotic Resistance Factors”, will be presented at IP2023 between 1:10pm and 2:40pm (BST) on 18 October 2023. A further announcement providing more details of the research will be released by the Company concurrent with the start of the presentation.

[i] WHO Regional Office for Europe/European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Europe 2022 – 2020 data. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2022.

[ii] Cassini A, Högberg LD, Plachouras D, et al. Attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU and the European Economic Area in 2015: a population-level modelling analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2019;19(1):56-66. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30605-4

[iii] Karakonstantis S, Kritsotakis EI, Gikas A. Pandrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria: a systematic review of current epidemiology, prognosis and treatment options. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2020;75(2):271-282. doi:10.1093/jac/dkz401

[iv]UK Health Security Agency. MRSA, MSSA, Gram-negative bacteraemia and CDI: 30-day all-cause fatality, London: UK Health Security Agency, March 2023.