A common blood pressure medication may offer a new weapon against one of the most dangerous superbugs. Researchers at the Houston Methodist Research Institute have found that Candesartan cilexetil, also known as CC, can kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
In lab and animal studies, the drug disrupted the bacteria's cell membrane, causing it to leak and die. MRSA causes more than 70,000 severe infections and 9,000 deaths in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC.
The drug is inexpensive and already widely prescribed for high blood pressure and heart failure, which could accelerate its path to human trials. The team is now seeking a pharmaceutical partner to move the research from bench to bedside.
The study was published in Nature Communications.