Liverpool scientists lead discovery of powerful new antibiotic class to tackle deadly superbugs

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, working with international collaborators, have discovered Novltex, a groundbreaking new class of antibiotics with potent activity against some of the world's most dangerous multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.

The discovery, led by Dr Ishwar Singh, Reader in Antimicrobial Drug Discovery at the University of Liverpool, marks a major step forward in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - a health crisis recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top 10 threats to humanity, responsible for nearly 5 million deaths every year.

A new weapon against superbugs

WHO has identified a list of "priority pathogens" urgently requiring new antibiotics, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterococcus faecium. Novltex has shown potent, fast-acting activity against both.

Unlike traditional antibiotics, Novltex targets lipid II - an essential building block of bacterial cell walls that does not mutate. This means Novltex offers durable protection against resistance, addressing one of the biggest challenges in modern medicine.

Advances in antibiotic design

This breakthrough builds on pioneering research by Dr Singh and his team, who previously developed simplified synthetic versions of teixobactin - a natural molecule used by soil bacteria to kill competing microbes. The Liverpool team created and tested a unique library of synthetic teixobactins, optimising key features to enhance efficacy and safety while making them practical and inexpensive to produce at scale.

Drawing on this foundation, the researchers have now created Novltex - a modular synthetic antibiotic platform inspired by teixobactin and clovibactin. Novltex avoids costly building blocks, can be adapted to generate a whole library of molecules for optimisation, and crucially, targets lipid II - a bacterial Achilles' heel that does not mutate. This combination of potency, durability, and manufacturability makes Novltex one of the most promising antibiotic candidates in decades.

Key findings

Published today (17 September 2025) in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry from the American Chemical Society, the researchers report the following key findings relating to Novltex:

• Kills high-priority superbugs - effective against MRSA and E. faecium.
• Durable against resistance - targets an immutable bacterial Achilles' heel.
• Modular platform - enables the creation of a library of molecules for safety and optimisation.
• Potent and fast-acting - works at very low doses and outperforms several licensed antibiotics such as vancomycin, daptomycin, linezolid, levofloxacin, cefotaxime.
• Safe and scalable - no toxicity in human cell models, with synthesis up to 30 times more efficient than natural products.

"Novltex is a breakthrough in our fight against antimicrobial resistance," said Dr Ishwar Singh. "By creating a modular, scalable platform that targets an immutable bacterial structure, we have taken an important step towards antibiotics that remain effective against superbugs like MRSA. This work was only possible through international collaboration, because antimicrobial resistance is a truly global problem. While much more testing is required before Novltex reaches patients, our results show that durable and practical solutions to AMR are within reach."

Next steps

The research team will:

• Test Novltex compounds in animal models of infection to confirm safety and efficacy.
• Study pharmacokinetics in living systems.
• Work with industrial and global partners to prepare for clinical trials.

This work is supported by Innovate UK, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Rosetrees Trust.

The full paper Novltex: A New Class of Antibiotics with Potent Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial PathogensDesign, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation is available in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c01193

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