The study of GSK3036656 – an inhibitor of the bacterial enzyme leucyl t-RNA synthetase (LeuRS) – showed that 14 days’ treatment with a low once-daily dose showed it was able to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis, with no serious adverse effects.
The results suggest that GSK3036656 could become a component of new, simpler treatment regimens for TB, and its novel mechanism of action raises the hope that it could be used to tackle resistant TB strains.
