Pharmacology of polymyxins, for developing novel antibiotics against 'superbugs': data

Polymyxins are increasingly the last option available to treat patients with infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as Gram-negative ‘superbugs'. Polymyxins were developed more than 50 years ago, before the advent of modern drug development and approval procedures. Due to a lack of clinical data, there were difficulties administering the drugs with the right dose and at the right time, with patients falling ill due to potential toxicity. The recent emergence of 'superbugs' resistant to all other antibiotics has led to a renewed interest in polymyxins. The study has involved testing (using techniques such as chromography) of samples from animals and from more than 200 patients in the US, Thailand, Brazil and Greece. Raw data from these experiments (500Gb, and around 100,000 data files in total) are used to support statistical analysis and modelling. This dataset is an output of an ongoing research program that includes a collaboration between Monash University (Prof Roger Nation, Assoc Prof Jian Li, Dr Tony Velkov, Dr Ian Larson, Prof Ben Adler, Dr John Boyce, Prof Paul Hertzog, Dr Jinhua Li), the Austin Hospital (Dr Ben Howden), the Alfred Hospital (Assoc Prof Dennis Spelman), the Women's and Children Hospital (Prof John Turnidge), St Vincent's Hospital (Assoc Prof Prue Hill), University of Pittsburgh (Dr Fernanda Silveira), University of Queensland (Prof David Paterson, Prof Matt Cooper), Mahidol University in Thailand (Prof Visanu Thamlikitkul) and the State University of New York at Buffalo (Prof Alan Forrest, Dr Brian Tsuji). More than 63 journal articles have resulted from this program of research.

多粘菌素（Polymyxins）正日益成为治疗由被称为革兰氏阴性"超级细菌"（Gram-negative 'superbugs'）的耐药菌引起感染患者的最后手段。多粘菌素于50多年前研发问世，早于现代药物研发与审批流程的出现。由于缺乏临床数据，该药的精准剂量给药与时机把控存在困难，患者可能因潜在毒性而出现不良反应。近年来，对所有其他抗生素均耐药的"超级细菌"出现，使得人们对多粘菌素重新产生了兴趣。该研究对来自动物以及美国、泰国、巴西和希腊的200余名患者样本进行了检测（采用色谱法（chromography）等技术）。这些实验产生的原始数据（共计500GB，约100,000个数据文件）被用于支持统计分析与建模。

本数据集是一项正在进行的研究项目的产出，该项目由莫纳什大学（Monash University，Roger Nation教授、Jian Li副教授、Tony Velkov博士、Ian Larson博士、Ben Adler教授、John Boyce博士、Paul Hertzog教授、Jinhua Li博士）、奥斯汀医院（Austin Hospital，Ben Howden博士）、阿尔弗雷德医院（Alfred Hospital，Dennis Spelman副教授）、妇女儿童医院（Women's and Children Hospital，John Turnidge教授）、圣文森特医院（St Vincent's Hospital，Prue Hill副教授）、匹兹堡大学（University of Pittsburgh，Fernanda Silveira博士）、昆士兰大学（University of Queensland，David Paterson教授、Matt Cooper教授）、泰国玛希隆大学（Mahidol University，Visanu Thamlikitkul教授）以及纽约州立大学布法罗分校（State University of New York at Buffalo，Alan Forrest教授、Brian Tsuji博士）合作开展。该研究项目已产出超过63篇期刊文章。