We report the discovery of a series
of new drug leads that have
potent activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as against other bacteria, fungi, and a malaria parasite.
The compounds are analogues of the new tuberculosis (TB) drug SQ109
(1), which has been reported to act by inhibiting a transporter
called MmpL3, involved in cell wall biosynthesis. We show that 1 and the new compounds also target enzymes involved in menaquinone
biosynthesis and electron transport, inhibiting respiration and ATP
biosynthesis, and are uncouplers, collapsing the pH gradient and membrane
potential used to power transporters. The result of such multitarget
inhibition is potent inhibition of TB cell growth, as well as very
low rates of spontaneous drug resistance. Several targets are absent
in humans but are present in other bacteria, as well as in malaria
parasites, whose growth is also inhibited.
This paper studies the asset pricing implications of industrial pollution. A long-short portfolio constructed from firms with high versus low toxic emission intensity within an industry generates an average annual return of 4.42%, which remains significant after controlling for risk factors. This pollution premium cannot be explained by existing systematic risks, investor preferences, market sentiment, political connections, or corporate governance. We propose and model a new systematic risk related to environmental policy uncertainty. We use the growth in environmental litigation penalties to measure regime change risk and find that it helps price the cross section of emission portfolios' returns.PRIOR FINANCE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT consumption and production influence expected stock returns. Little is known, however, about the role of their by-product-industrial pollution-in asset pricing. On the one hand, polluting firms may save costs by not investing in emission abatement and environmental recovery in the short run. On the other hand, the negative
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