Ramoplanin is a glycolipodepsipeptide antibiotic

Antibiotic

An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...

 drug derived from strain ATCC 33076 of Actinoplanes

Actinoplanes

Actinoplanes are a genus in the family Actinoplanaceae. They have aerial mycelia and spherica, motile spores.Actinoplanes produces the pharmaceutically important compounds valienamine, teicoplanin and ramoplanin....

.

Mechanism

It exerts its bacteriocidal effect by inhibiting cell wall

Cell wall

The cell wall is the tough, usually flexible but sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cells. It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism. A major function of the cell wall is to...

 biosynthesis, acting by inhibiting the transglycosylation step of peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan, also known as murein, is a polymer consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer outside the plasma membrane of bacteria , forming the cell wall. The sugar component consists of alternating residues of β- linked N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid...

 synthesis.

Uses

Its development has been fast-tracked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for multiantibiotic-resistant Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile , also known as "CDF/cdf", or "C...

infection of the gastrointestinal tract

Gastrointestinal tract

The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....

, although it is unstable in the bloodstream and so can be taken only orally against GI tract infections.