New Lyme Antibiotics - About Hygromycin A and Azlocillin

Updated: 3/28/23

On The Horizon

There are two recent antibiotic discoveries that could change the course of Lyme disease treatment. One of these is azlocillin and the other is hygromycin A. FlightPath is a company that has looked into bringing both of these drugs to market. Based on my phone conversation with CEO Matt Tindall on May 18, 2022, FlightPath is no longer pursuing bringing azlocillin to market, but continues its development of hygromycin A.

Azlocillin

Azlocillin is an FDA-approved antibiotic shown in laboratory experiments, including mouse experiments, to effectively treat persister phase and growth phase Lyme. You can read more about persisters in How to Treat Persisters in Lyme & Bartonella. Unfortunately, there is one hitch—no pharmaceutical company currently produces this medication. While mouse experiments and other science experiments look promising, no published human experiments exist.

One drawback to bringing azlocillin to market is that it is a very broad-spectrum antibiotic. This means it kills a variety of different bacteria which could lead to major disturbances of the intestinal bacteria. In general, pharmaceutical companies are more interested in developing antibiotics that target specific germs while leaving the intestinal bacteria alone.  Given this, it is doubtful any pharmaceutical company will develop azlocillin further.

Hygromycin A

Hygromycin A is a substance found in soil that targets Lyme spirochetes and does not appear to target other bacteria—so as to not disturb the intestinal microbiome. FlightPath is developing hygromycin A, this novel therapeutic. However, because it is not FDA-approved, it could take years or more to bring this to market. FlightPath must first perform the required laboratory and clinical studies to get FDA approval.

In my conversations with CEO Tindall, FlightPath is interested in pursuing hygromycin A as a treatment for acute Lyme. The company is hoping to develop a drug that will not harm the intestinal bacteria. At this time, they are not pursuing this as a treatment for chronic or persister Lyme.

Lyme Protocol

For current treatment options that may speed your Lyme recovery, see The Ross Lyme Support Protocol.