BRITISH scientists say they have found three drugs which kill the MRSA superbug - after developing them on a computer.

BRITISH scientists say they have found three drugs which kill the MRSA superbug - after developing them on a computer.

New research firm e-Therapeutics claims the treatment even works on strains of the bug which have defeated the best existing drugs.

MRSA has been blamed for thousands of deaths of hospital patients every year. It is notoriously difficult to treat as it resists antibiotics.

Patients are most likely to be given the antibiotic vancomycinas a last resort treatment, but some strains of MRSA have developed resistance.

The drugs discovered by e-Therapeutics, of Newcastle, have been shown in the laboratory to kill even vancomycin-resistant strains of MRSA.

They also knock out other dangerous bacteria, which are an increasing menace in hospitals.

Professor Malcolm Young, of Newcastle University, used his academic background in mathematics to develop systematic analysis to assist drug development.

He used computers to "industrialise" drug research by using models to predict how drugs would affect human tissue and bacteria.

The treatment is now in the final stages of clinical testing, and the developers hope it could take as little as three years to license as the drugs are already used on humans for other conditions.

Prof Young, chief executive of e-Therapeutics, said "We believe the discovery of these new drugs is important for doctors and patients.

"We pursued treatments for MRSA and other resistant bugs because older laboratory methods have been extensively tried in this area but haven't resulted in effective new medicines.

"These new therapies for MRSA and other dangerous hospital-based infections are a tremendous boost for our new approach to drug discovery and for patient safety."