Teixobactin, the first of a new class of antibiotics discovered by iChip technology?

Teixobactin is a recently described antibiotic of a new class produced by a hitherto undescribed soil microorganism (provisionally named Eleftheria terrae). It was isolated with a new tool, the iChip, that allowed the environmental bacterium to grow and for the antibiotic it produced to be isolated and subsequently identified. Teixobactin has activity against Gram-positive (but not Gram-negative) organisms and mycobacteria and a novel mode of action inhibiting peptidoglycan biosynthesis. In vitro no teixobactin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis were selected. In experimental infections of MRSA and Streptococcus pneumoniae in mice, teixobactin was effective at reducing the bacterial load. Although teixobactin is at an early stage of development and there are no guarantees it will make it to market, the use of the iChip will hopefully result in the discovery of further potential new antibiotics.