[Antimicrobial spectrum of dalbavancin. Mechanism of action and in vitro activity against Gram-positive microorganisms].

Because of the increase in bacterial resistance, there is a need for new antimicrobial agents. Dalbavancin is a semisynthetic glycopeptide that inhibits the late stages of bacterial cell wall synthesis in the same way as vancomycin, but in addition, its lipophilic side chain anchors dalbavancin to the cellular membrane and allows enhanced activity compared with that of vancomycin. Dalbavancin possesses a broad spectrum of in vitro activity against Gram-positive aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, being 4-8 times more potent than vancomycin. The spectrum of dalbavancin includes staphylococci, enterococci, streptococci, and anaerobic Gram-positive cocci and bacilli. It is active against different species of multiresistant microorganisms, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and penicillin-resistant viridans streptococci and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Although it shows in vitro activity against Enterococcus spp., it is inactive against isolates expressing the VanA phenotype of vancomycin resistance. It also shows slow bactericidal activity against S. aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and Streptococcus pyogenes. In general, the MIC90 (minimum inhibitory concentration 90%) against the majority of the microorganisms is 0.06mg/L and, more than 98% of the isolates that have been tested are inhibited at concentrations of ≤ 0.12mg/L. Dalbavancin is an interesting addition to the therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive microorganisms, including multidrug-resistant isolates.