HP partners with CDC to ‘print’ antibiotics for susceptibility testing

The CDC and HP, Inc. have partnered for a novel public health pilot program to fight antimicrobial resistance.

“We’re leveraging HPs inkjet printing technology and ability to handle very small quantities of fluids to advance the CDCs efforts to quickly test patient samples,” Annette Friskopp, vice president and general manager of specialty printing systems at HP, told Infectious Disease News.

Antimicrobial resistance is an international public health issue that persists because of the overuse of new drugs that have not been tested for susceptibility. Therefore, it is critical that antimicrobial susceptibility testing is more accessible at the local level.

Using HP technology to “print” pharmaceutical samples, the program aims to accelerate testing of new antibiotics, which may result in new drugs lasting longer.

“The D300e is a digital dispenser that enables the CDC and the research labs to print new antibiotics into well plates containing patient samples,” Friskopp explained

As part of the Antimicrobial Resistance Lab Network, four regional laboratories in New York, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin will be issued HP D300e Digital Dispense Bioprinters to assist in the development of antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods. According to the press release, this will be the first time rapid susceptibility testing will be conducted by regional laboratories for national health departments and hospitals.

The pilot program’s top priority is panresistant bacteria, but the CDC is also prioritizing highly resistant bacteria.

HP’s technology was developed to print minute quantities of liquid, allowing for a simpler workflow and cost-effective testing, according to Friskopp. The bioprinters have been used for about 7 years by pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and academic institutions in a myriad of different applications, including dosage discovery, toxicity testing, assay development, drug combination studies and qPCR setup. The CDC’s pilot program is a novel application of HPs core technology to combat antimicrobial resistance.

According to Friskopp, the CDC plans to create a reference method detailing steps on preparing patient samples and applying new antibiotics.

“I think that the CDCs adoption of technology will lead to a lot more awareness,” Friskopp said. “We are already in discussions with agencies outside of the United States that are keen to solve this problem as well.” – by Marley Ghizzone

Disclosure: Friskopp works for HP, Inc.