The discovery of a new form of antibiotic with the potential to be “unlikely” to become subject to the development of future resistance has been claimed by researchers from the US and Germany.
The antibiotic, reported in the journal Nature, has been termed “teixcobactin” by its developers who say that its properties “suggest a path towards developing antibiotics that are likely to avoid the development of resistance”.
The researchers’ claims concerning future progress in combatting antibiotic resistance, which would be a huge breakthrough in relation to both human and animal medicine, also embrace the prospect of further such compounds being discovered as a result of their work.
“The properties of teixcobactin suggest that it evolved to minimise resistance development by target microorganisms,” they said. “It is likely that additional natural compounds with similar low susceptibility to resistance are present in nature and waiting to be discovered.”Â