Doctors have prescribed the antibiotic vancomycin for 60 years against disease and infections in people “and bacteria are only now becoming resistant to it,” says Britain’s Press Association. “Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in the United States have now modified the drug so it works in three separate ways on bacteria, making it much harder for them to develop resistance.”
Research leader Dale Boger, co-chair of chemistry at Scripps, said it was the first time that an antibiotic has three independent “mechanisms of action” against bacteria, reported the Press Association. “This increases the durability of this antibiotic,” said Boger. Vancomycin disrupts formation of cell walls by bacteria. Researchers said the modification of the antimicrobial increases its potency, meaning smaller doses can be used, and reduces the opportunity for bacteria to develop resistance.
Avoparcin, chemically similar to vancomycin, has been used in Europe to promote weight gain in food animals. The FDA prohibits use of all glycopeptide antibiotics, including vancomycin, in livestock. Vancomycin is used human medicine in the United States and is often a last-resort treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).