An antibiotic effective against anthrax that has no detectable resistance, Northeastern research finds

Originally published by Cyrus Moulton at Northeastern Global News on March 14, 2025


A doctoral student extracts antibiotics compound from bacterial cell extracts in a lab which contributed to the discovery of teixobactin. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

The antibiotic teixobactin — developed a decade ago by Northeastern University professors Kim Lewis and Slava Epstein in collaboration with university startup NovoBiotic — has already proven itself against MRSA and pneumonia.

Now, anthrax can be added to the list, according to new research published in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases.

“This is the first realistic countermeasure against an engineered bioweapon, since there is no resistance to the drug,” says Lewis, university distinguished professor and director of the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern. 

Teixobactin is unique as an antibiotic that has shown no detectable resistance. 

The drug comes from an uncultured soil bacterium.  

 

Kim Lewis, university distinguished professor and director of the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern, collaborated on the development of teixobactin, which has been found to be effective against anthrax. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

It attacks bacteria by binding to a fatty molecule necessary for building cell walls and forming a large supramolecular structure on the bacteria’s surface. This supramolecular structure damages the membrane and leads to bacteria’s death.

 

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