With resistance to chemical antibiotics on the rise, the world needs entirely new forms of antibiotics. A new study published in Microbiology Spectrum shows that an enzymatic cocktail can kill a variety of mycobacterial species of bacteria, including those that cause tuberculosis. The research was carried out by scientists at Colorado State University and Endolytix Technologies.

In the new proof of principle study, the researchers took a biological approach instead of a chemical one to develop a cocktail of enzymes that attack the cell envelope of mycobacteria. The cocktail of enzymes contains highly specific biochemical catalysts that target and degrade the mycobacteria cell envelope that is essential for mycobacterial viability.

To increase efficacy, the researchers delivered the enzymatic drug inside of host macrophages where mycobacteria grow. In laboratory experiments, the drug was effective against M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs), both lethal pulmonary lung diseases (PD).

TB kills roughly 1.5 million people per year.