US scientists have recently developed a vital antibiotic, the modified version of the antibiotic vancomycin, to battle the world's most threatening superbugs. 

The new version drug appears to be 1,000-time more potent than the old one, according to a journal published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

Vancomycin is considered by the WHO as pretty effective at fighting enterococci bacteria, which is found in hospitals and can cause dangerous wound and blood infections. However, doctors’ concern has been increasing in recent years, regarding the hard-to-treat infection, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). 

Two plates coated with drug-resistant bacteria. /VCG Photo‍

In facts, the old version of vancomycin drug is now powerless, despite some antibiotics still able to work against VRE.

In order to revamp the drug to restore its killing ability, the research team, from the Scripps Research Institute in California, made strategic modification to the molecular structure of the old drug to destroy cell walls of the bacteria better.

Three changes in particular seem to be crucial in "increasing the durability" of the drug, said Dale Boger, lead researcher from the Scripps Research Institute. He pointed out that they made one change to the molecule vancomycin that can overcome what is the present resistance to vancomycin, and two small changes to help molecule improve the ability to kill bacteria. With the help of the three changes, “the resistance to the new version of vancomycin would be very difficult to emerge”, said Dale Boger.

The new drug is yet to be tested on animals and people, however, researchers have expressed great hope to the new kind of drug, which is considered to be used wildly within five years if it passes more tests.

(Source: Xinhua)