sponsored by HEALTH SECTOR NEWS
MIT use AI in the battle against drug-resistant bacteria
With help from artificial intelligence, researchers at the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered novel antibiotics that they say can combat two hard-to-treat infections: a drug- resistant form of gonorrhea, and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Using generative AI algorithms,
the research team ‘designed’ more than 36 million possible compounds, and computationally screened them for antimicrobial properties. The top candidates they discovered are structurally distinct from any existing antibiotics, and they appear to work ‘by novel mechanisms that disrupt bacterial cell membranes’. This approach allowed the researchers to generate and evaluate theoretical compounds that have reportedly never been seen before – a strategy that they now hope to apply to identify and design compounds with activity against other species of bacteria. Professor James Collins (pictured),
the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in MIT’s
Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and Department of Biological Engineering, said: “We’re excited about the new possibilities that this project opens up for antibiotics development. Our work shows the power of AI from a drug design standpoint, and enables us to exploit much larger chemical spaces that were previously inaccessible.” Professor Collins is the senior author
of the resulting study, published recently in Cell. The paper’s lead authors are MIT postdoc, Aarti Krishnan, former postdoc Melis Anahtar, and Jacqueline Valeri PhD. The researchers explain that over
the past 45 years, ‘a few dozen new antibiotics have been approved by the FDA, but most of these are variants of existing antibiotics’. At the same time, bacterial resistance to many of these drugs has been growing. Globally, they say, it is estimated that drug- resistant bacterial infections cause nearly five million deaths per year. In the hope of finding new antibiotics to fight this growing problem, Professor Collins and others at MIT’s Antibiotics- AI Project have harnessed the power of AI to screen ‘huge libraries of existing chemical compounds’. They say the work has yielded several promising drug candidates, including halicin and abaucin. The MIT explains to build on that
progress, Professor Collins and his colleagues decided ‘to expand their search into molecules that can’t be found in any chemical libraries’. The organisation said: “By using AI to generate hypothetically possible molecules that don’t exist or haven’t been discovered, they realised that it should be possible to explore a much greater diversity of potential drug compounds.”
MHRA announces updates on medical device regulation
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published its latest MedRegs blog, Summer 2025, which includes new post-market surveillance regulations, outlines plans to consult later this year on indefinite recognition of CE-marked devices, and highlights ongoing development of early- access pathways for medical technologies. This impacts infection control
and safety protocols, and mentions ensuring rapid access to medical devices. For the healthcare estates and facilities management industry, these developments within the medical devices sector are significant as they influence the standards, technologies, and compliance measures that shape modern clinical environments. Rob Reid, Deputy director, Innovative Devices, said: “Last month was an incredibly important and
MOVERS AND
SHAKERS
n Accessible architects Adaptation Design have appointed occupational therapist Kate Sheehan to enhance clinical expertise. Kate joins the firm with 38 years of clinical experience, specialising in accessible housing. Her practice champions adaptations that improve the wellbeing of clients with disabilities.
n Glazing and façade solutions specialist Britplas has appointed two new divisional managing directors – Chris Kennedy has been named as managing director of Britplas Secure and Jason Cross will take on the role of managing director of Britplas Facades.
n Cleanroom microbiology solutions provider Cherwell, part of AnalytiChem, has announced the retirement of its managing director, Andy Whittard, and the appointment of Stuart Hall, Cherwell’s current director of finance, as his successor.
n UK-based lighting supplier Knightsbridge has named Dave Dawkins as its new chief executive officer. Dawkins joins the business with over 30 years of industry experience, primarily in lighting manufacturing.
exciting month for the UK healthcare system. July saw the publication of not one, but two pivotal policy documents. “First, the 10 Year Health Plan for England set out the government’s plan to create a new model of care for the UK, one in which science and technology is central to supporting three radical shifts from hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. This was followed by the publication of the Life Sciences Sector Plan. “Both plans set out the important
role that the MHRA will play, committing to the development of agile, risk-proportionate pathways for the safe and rapid evaluation and approval of medical products. “Streamlining our regulatory
pathways will not only allow for faster patient access to new technology, but will also boost growth in the UK sector by reducing duplicative regulatory costs faced by manufacturers and focusing the domestic approvals route (UKCA) on first-in-market innovative technologies, including AI as a medical device. “Alongside the new routes to
market, the Agency continues to develop tools to support discovery, development and access to innovation. The pilot Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) is currently under evaluation by its partners, including the Agency and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).”
n UK-based Pinpoint Limited has restructured its senior management team following the passing of their CEO, Daniel Waring. The restructure sees company veteran and Pinpoint Priority Service’s managing director, Simon Hemming, step up to the position of chief executive officer. Technical director, Richard Gibson, will become chief technical officer, while product director, Allan Aikman, will officially join the board, assuming the role of chief operations officer.
n The chief executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, has announced that he will stand down from the role in April 2026. The NHS Confederation’s board of trustees will meet in this month to consider succession planning.
October 2025 Health Estate Journal 19
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