Developed skills and lines of research
Maria Rosalia Pasca has been a full professor of Microbiology at the Department of Biology and Biotechnology ‘Lazzaro Spallanzani’ of the University of Pavia since 2021. She obtained her PhD in Genetics and Molecular Evolution at the University of Bari in 2002. She then worked as post-DOC researcher at the University of Pavia.
She has extensive experience in studying the mechanisms of action and resistance of drugs against pathogenic mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium abscessus. She is currently one of the partners in the ERA4TB consortium, which aims to find at least one new treatment against tuberculosis.
Recently, thanks to the contribution of FFC Ricerca, she identified VOMG, a compound active against M. abscessus in vitro, in vivo and against biofilm, whose mechanism of action was identified. Preclinical studies are ongoing. She has recently filed two patents on this compound with FFC Ricerca as co-owner.
She is the author of 81 papers, 4 international patent applications and several international and national conference communications.
Patents with FFC Ricerca
- Pyridine-2-thiol 1-oxide derivatives and their use for treatment of mammalian infections caused by Mycobacterium or fungi; WO 2024/083764 A1; Entry into the EU and US national phases after PCT.
– Inventors: Pasca MR, Degiacomi G, Riabova O, Makarov V
– Owners: University of Pavia (Italy), FFC Ricerca - A pharmaceutical combination for the treatment of lung infections in subjects with cystic fibrosis. IT National patent; PCT extension filed: PCT/EP2025/059935.
– Inventors: Pasca MR, Ramon-Garcia S, Munoz-Munoz L, Makarov V.
– Owners: University of Pavia (Italy), University of Zaragoza (Spain), Fundación Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigación y el Desarrollo (Spain), FFC Ricerca
Projects funded by FFC Ricerca as Principal Investigator
FFC#9/2023
Evaluation of the efficacy of the “VOMG” new antibiotic against Mycobacterium abscessus
FFC#18/2021
New weapons against Mycobacterium abscessus and other nontuberculous Mycobacteria
FFC#14/2020
New weapons against Mycobacterium abscessus and other nontuberculous mycobacteria
FFC#19/2018
New weapons against Mycobacterium abscessus and other nontuberculous mycobacteria
Publications from FFC Ricerca projects
- Recchia D, Stelitano G et al Mycobacterium abscessus infections in cystic fibrosis individuals: a review on therapeutic options. International journal of molecular sciences vol. 24,5 4635. 27 Feb. 2023
- Degiacomi G, Chiarelli LR et al The Antimalarial Mefloquine Shows Activity against Mycobacterium abscessus, Inhibiting Mycolic Acid Metabolism. Int J Mol Sci. vol. 22,16 8533. 8 Aug. 2021
- Chiarelli LR, Degiacomi G et al Nitric oxide-releasing compounds for the treatment of lung infections. Drug discovery today vol. 26,2 (2021): 542-550
- Egorova A, Jackson M et al Pipeline of anti-Mycobacterium abscessus small molecules: Repurposable drugs and promising novel chemical entities. Med Res Rev. vol. 41,4 (2021): 2350-2387
- Degiacomi G, Sammartino JC et al Mycobacterium abscessus, an Emerging and Worrisome Pathogen among Cystic Fibrosis Patients. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Nov 22;20(23):5868
- Degiacomi G, Chiarelli LR et al The novel drug candidate VOMG kills Mycobacterium abscessus and other pathogens by inhibiting cell division. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2024 Oct;64(4):107278