Novel intravesical therapy for combating antimicrobial resistance in treating urinary tract infections (UTIs)

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infections that can affect the bladder, kidneys and the tubes connected to them. UTIs account for 23% of all NHS hospital acquired infections. High dose antibiotics delivered systemically are the first-line treatments for UTIs.

Over 32 million antibiotics were prescribed each year in primary care alone for treating UTIs. However, Antibiotic-resistant UTIs are now common due to the overuse of Novel intravesical therapy for combating antimicrobial resistance in treating urine tract infections antibiotics, with major causative pathogens (e.g. E. coli) commonly resistant to first line antibiotics used for treatment of UTI.

This results in infections that are symptomatic for longer and are more expensive to treat in primary care. Given the high numbers of infections and high rate of antibiotic resistance there is an urgency to develop new treatments for UTIs.

This project brings together two innovations, in material science and bacterial drug discovery to develop a new type of treatment using localised delivery of drug combinations to the bladder for treating UTIs. The aim is to deliver drugs specifically to the site of infection and to use combinations to reduce the dose and duration of the use of antibiotics which will prevent resistance emergence.

This approach will reduce the overall amount of antibiotic use for treating UTIs and improve the therapeutic effectiveness.