Background

With the discovery of penicillin in the 1940’s, many scientists proclaimed the defeat of infectious diseases which had plagued mankind. However, the remarkable healing power of antibiotics unfortunately invited widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics. This misuse and overuse of antibiotics has led to the dramatic rise in antibiotic resistant bacterial strains and increased healthcare costs.

Technology Overview

Teixobactin is a new class of macrocyclic depsipeptide antibiotics shown to possess bioactivity against gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Streptococcus pneumonia. It is believed that teixobactin acts an inhibitor of bacteria cell wall synthesis by binding to lipid II and thereby interrupting the formation of the peptidoglycan layer.

The researchers at the University of California,