Pioneering scientist Kirsty Smitten, who developed a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives, dies aged just 29
- Kirsty Smitten was given just months to live after being diagnosed with heart cancer
- She was treated in hospital for seven weeks before she died on October 4th
A brilliant young scientist who developed a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives and avert a medical catastrophe has died aged just 29.
Kirsty Smitten was given just months to live after being diagnosed in February with heart cancer, a deadly disease so rare it affects only two people a year in Britain, and lost her battle for life in the early hours of this morning of October 4th.
She had been treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for seven weeks before her death. Her family was at her bedside during her final hours.
Her sister-in-law Sukhi Smitten, wife of her older brother Matt, said: “Kirsty fought until the end but this cancer was so aggressive she couldn’t beat it.”
“She kept saying how much she needed to live – her brother Dan is getting married in November and Matt and I are expecting a baby in February. “She would have been the most wonderful aunt. We are all heartbroken.’
Kirsty Smitten (pictured in 2018) was given just months to live after being diagnosed in February with heart cancer, a deadly disease so rare it affects just two people a year in the UK, and lost her battle to stay alive Life in the early hours of October 4th
With her team at Metallo Bio, Ms. Smitten (pictured) developed two antibiotic compounds to treat bacterial infections, including pneumonia and meningitis, that have become resistant to the drugs commonly used to treat them, as well as infections that develop in wounds and after surgery
The Solihull family were still reeling from the sudden death of Ms Smitten’s seemingly healthy father Kevin, 61, who suffered a heart attack while playing football in Portugal last October, as they began to fear for her health.
Ms Smitten, who had been playing hockey and football every day, woke up at night last November with excruciating chest pains, The Mail On Sunday reported earlier this year.
It took three months before she was finally diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma – a tumor in her heart.
This type of tumor will grow back and is likely to spread or rupture, which can lead to heart failure. Kirsty had no doubt that this was a death sentence, but hoped to live long enough to find a cure.
In the early months, the biochemist, who has a doctorate in chemistry and was named to Forbes magazine’s prestigious 30 under 30 science and healthcare list in 2020, continued to lead the fight against antimicrobial resistance – as the World Health Organization calls it – one of the biggest threats to global health – bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites have evolved over time and no longer respond to medicines.
With her team at Metallo Bio, a company she founded with support from her PhD supervisor at the University of Sheffield, Ms Smitten developed two antibiotic compounds to treat bacterial infections, including pneumonia and meningitis, that have become resistant to the drugs commonly used to treat them them, as well as infections that develop in wounds and after operations.
Ms. Smitten’s family is interested in ensuring that her legacy of both bringing the new class of antibiotics to the public and raising awareness of cardiac angiosarcoma continues after her death
However, in recent weeks she has been unable to work as she has had difficulty breathing or walking around her hospital bed.
Her family is keen to ensure that her legacy, both in promoting the new class of antibiotics and in raising awareness of cardiac angiosarcoma – she posted regularly on Tiktok and Instagram and supported other sufferers online – continues after her death.