Description

Source: PIB

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context

Dr. Jitendra Singh announces soft launch of India’s First Indigenous Antibiotic, Nafithromycin, to Combat Drug Resistance.

Read about antibiotic resistance: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/antibiotics-resistance

Features of Nafithromycin

Feature	Details
Developer	Developed with support from Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) by Wockhardt.
Trade Name	Miqnaf.
Target Condition	Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP) especially drug-resistant strains. *Read about pneumonia:* *https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/walking-pneumonia*
Mechanism of Action	Targets both typical and atypical pathogens effectively.
Efficacy	Ten times more effective than azithromycin; minimal gastrointestinal side effects.
Safety and Versatility	Fewer drug interactions and unaffected by food consumption.
Global Milestone	First in its class developed globally in over 30 years.
Support Mechanism	BIRAC’s Biotechnology Industry Partnership Program (BIPP)

Significance of Nafithromycin

CABP affects vulnerable populations including children, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. India bears 23% of the global pneumonia burden, necessitating new solutions.

AMR poses a global health crisis reducing the effectiveness of traditional antibiotics. Nafithromycin’s innovative design overcomes existing resistance mechanisms.

Clinical and Economic Advantages:

Reduces treatment duration, hospitalization costs and side effects.

Expected to save countless lives worldwide especially in resource-constrained settings.

About BIPP

The Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) was launched on 5th December, 2008. BIPP is a government partnership with Industries for support on a cost sharing basis for path-breaking research in frontier futuristic technology areas having major economic potential and making the Indian industry globally competitive.

It is focused on IP creation with ownership retained by Indian industry and wherever relevant, by collaborating scientists.

Proposals are invited under 7 broad themes:

a.) Drugs including drug Delivery,

b.) Vaccines and clinical trials,

c.) Biosimilars & stem cells,

d.) Devices & Diagnostics,

e.) Agriculture,

f.) Industrial Biotechnology including Secondary Agriculture and

g.) Bioinformatics & facilities that virtually cover every aspect of Biotechnology.

BIPP is an Advanced Technology Scheme only for high risk, transformational technology/ process development.

Features of BIPP

Support for high risk, accelerated technology development especially in futuristic technologies.

Support for very high risk, nationally and socially relevant areas, with no assured market. This would be more of translational research in such cases. It is envisaged that public institutes would be useful partners, so that the basic R&D leads can be translated to product development by the industry.

Provides for product evaluation and validation through support for limited and large scale field trial for agriculture products and clinical trials (Phase I, II, III) for health care products.

Supporting research project for novel IP generation.

BIPP Categories for Support:

BIPP covers four broad categories (I, II, III & IV) as described below:

Category I: Areas with major social relevance but uncertain market driven demand

Category II: High risk, discovery and innovation research with relevance for making India globally competitive

Category III A: Evaluation & validation of already existing products of high national importance promoting local innovation (Clinical Trials)

Category III B: Evaluation & validation of already existing products of high national importance promoting local innovation (Agriculture Field Trials)

Category IV: Shared cost major facilities, critical for enabling innovation

About Antibiotics

Characteristics of Antibiotics

Characteristic	Details
Definition	Chemical substances that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Discovery	Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, marking the antibiotic era.
Sources	Naturally occurring (e.g., penicillin from fungi), synthetic, or semi-synthetic.
Target specificity	Effective against bacteria, with minimal harm to human cells.
Broad-spectrum	Effective against a wide range of bacteria (e.g., tetracycline).
Narrow-spectrum	Effective against specific types of bacteria (e.g., vancomycin).

Classification of Antibiotics

Classification	Example	Mechanism of Action
By Mechanism of Action
Cell wall synthesis inhibitors	Penicillin, Vancomycin	Prevent bacteria from forming cell walls, leading to lysis.
Protein synthesis inhibitors	Tetracycline, Chloramphenicol	Disrupt ribosomal function, halting protein production.
DNA/RNA synthesis inhibitors	Ciprofloxacin, Rifampin	Block bacterial DNA replication or transcription.
Metabolic pathway inhibitors	Sulfonamides, Trimethoprim	Interfere with folic acid synthesis, vital for bacterial growth.
By Spectrum of Activity
Broad-spectrum	Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin	Target a variety of bacterial strains.
Narrow-spectrum	Isoniazid, Polymyxins	Target specific bacterial strains.

Mechanism of Action

Inhibition of Cell Wall Synthesis

Prevents bacterial cell wall formation.

Examples: β-lactams (penicillin), glycopeptides (vancomycin).

Inhibition of Protein Synthesis

Targets bacterial ribosomes (50S or 30S subunits).

Examples: Macrolides, aminoglycosides.

Inhibition of Nucleic Acid Synthesis

Disrupts bacterial DNA replication or transcription.

Examples: Fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin).

Disruption of Membrane Integrity

Damages bacterial cell membranes, causing leakage.

Examples: Polymyxins.

Metabolic Inhibition

Blocks essential metabolic pathways like folic acid synthesis.

Examples: Sulfa drugs.

Sources:

PIB

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q:Consider the following statements regarding antibiotics:

Antibiotics are effective against bacterial, viral and fungal infections.
Misuse of antibiotics can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
India recently developed Nafithromycin, its first indigenous antibiotic to combat drug-resistant pneumonia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect. Antibiotics are specifically effective against bacterial infections. They do not work against viral infections (e.g., influenza) or fungal infections (e.g., candidiasis).

Statement 2 is correct. Misuse of antibiotics such as overuse or improper use (e.g., not completing the prescribed course) contributes to the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This is a global health crisis where common bacteria become resistant to existing drugs.

Statement 3 is correct. Nafithromycin is India’s first indigenous antibiotic aimed at combating drug-resistant pneumonia developed with support from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). It represents a major step forward in addressing AMR.