Potential New Weapon in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

A forgotten antibiotic has shown promise in treating antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Octapeptin, an antimicrobial drug discovered several decades ago, may be the next weapon in the war against antimicrobial resistant superbugs. Matt Cooper, director of the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience’s Centre for Superbug Solutions, said “Octapeptins were discovered in the late 1970s but were not selected for development at the time, as there was an abundance of new antibiotics with thousands of people working in antibiotic research and development.”

In a study conducted on animal models which was published in Cell Chemical Biology by Cooper, et al., Octapeptin was shown to be more effective and potentially less nephrotoxic than colistin, which is the current last resort therapy for multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the top global health threats today. CLSI has joined in the ongoing battle against antimicrobial resistance for several decades by publishing its antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) documents, which include the breakpoints that help laboratorians provide the up-to-date information clinicians need to effectively treat their patients.