UNB Saint John study shows promising fight against TB CBC News
Author: Communications
Posted on Mar 27, 2013
Category: UNB Saint John
Scientists in Saint John are scouring the woods and shorelines for plants that could help in the global fight against tuberculosis.
"We've been able to find endophytic fungi from plants here in New Brunswick that can inhibit or kill TB," said John Johnson, a biology professor who works with the team of graduate students at the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus.
The work by the Natural Products Research Group, started in 2007, is still in the early stages.
"If we came up with something tomorrow, it could be 10 years to 15 years before it goes through all the steps, all the development, before you can get it to some kind of a point where you're ready for a clinical trial," he said.
Still, Johnson is hopeful the team is on the track to finding new antibiotics that could change how doctors treat the disease.
Read the full story and listen to the interview at CBC News - New Brunswick.