The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) is launching the DZIF Start-up Fund, a new funding initiative to support spin-offs in translational infection research.

It is not only antibiotics but also certain viruses – known as bacteriophages – that can kill off pathogenic bacteria. However, Switzerland lacks the legal framework for the use of these viruses in…

Drug resistance threatens medical progress. Fighting both antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable diseases is key to protecting global health gains.

A CDC report found a dramatic increase in a dangerous type of drug-resistant bacteria.

Nature Reviews Microbiology - In this Review, James, Thursky and colleagues explore strategies that promote the responsible use of antimicrobials from a One Health perspective, emphasizing the...

Increasing spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria demands antibiotics that combine potent activity with scalable synthesis. Novo29 (clovibactin) is promising but suffers from low yield (1%), dependence on costly and noncommercial d-hydroxy-asparagine (d-Hyn5), and lengthy syntheses. We report “Novltex”, a novel class of antibiotic that fuses the Leu10-teixobactin macrocycle to the Novo29 N-terminus tail, replacing d-Hyn5 with inexpensive threonine. Our efficient synthesis delivers 30% yield with faster coupling cycles (∼10 min), enabling rapid and low-cost scale-up. A 16-member analogue library systematically probing amino-acid configuration identified analogue 4 (d-Leu2) as the initial lead, informing the rational design of analogue 12 (d-cyclohexylalanine2). Analogue 12 displays potent antibacterial activity (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) 0.12–0.5 μg/mL) against World Health Organization (WHO)-priority pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterococcus faecium, surpassing several licensed antibiotics while maintaining an excellent safety profile. Lipid II-binding assays confirm the conservation of the parent mechanism. Novltex, therefore, offers a practical, high-yielding, and cost-efficient platform for the development of next-generation antibiotics targeting MDR infections.

The BEAM Alliance continues to highlight the UK’s pioneering work in its dialogue with European Union policymakers. But we are urging the UK government to consider how the scheme can allow for partici...

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Over the past four years, INCATE has been supporting early-stage [...]

Scientific Reports - Prediction of antibiotic resistance from antibiotic susceptibility testing results from surveillance data using machine learning