This is unpublished
A detailed view of bacteria under a microscope, showcasing their structure and the presence of antibiotics, emphasizing the battle against infection. Adobe stock image.
July 31, 2026

Focused antibiotics

UW researchers have received funding from the Wellcome Leap program in Focused Antibiotics, which aims to reformulate existing antibiotics to spare the gut microbiome without loss of treatment efficacy.
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Antibiotics are the foundation of modern medicine, yet bacteria are developing resistance faster than we can innovate. Today, 1 in 6 infections are resistant to standard first-line treatments. If left unaddressed, resistant infections are projected to kill more than 8 million people every year by 2050.

Drs. Shawn Skerrett, professor emeritus, T. Eoin West, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), and Patrick Stayton (Dept. of Bioengineering) were awarded funding for three years by the Wellcome Leap program in Focused Antibiotics for their proposal entitled “Lung Macrophage-Targeted Polymeric Prodrugs of Amoxicillin and Clavulanate for Gut Microbiome-Sparing Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia.”

The goal of the Focused Antibiotics program is to reformulate existing antibiotics to spare the gut microbiome without loss of treatment efficacy.