HP Innovation Journal Issue 11: Winter 2018 | Page 25

HP bioprinters will help the CDC labs
quickly and accurately test new anti-
biotics, with the goal of getting the
best new therapies to the people that
need them.
THE RACE AGAINST RESISTANT BACTERIA
Bacteria are living organisms, with the same propensity for
adaptation that all living creatures have. And they quickly
developed mechanisms that made them resistant to
early antibiotic drugs. What followed was a biological arms
race: Scientists developed new antibiotics as the older ones
became less effective, and the cycle repeated as bacteria
grew resistant to the new treatments. Ubiquitous use—
and misuse—of antibiotics accelerated this process.
“Bacteria continuously develop new ways to resist
antibiotics—once a drug is approved for use, the countdown
begins until resistance emerges. In fact, resistance has even
been detected before FDA approval,” says Jean Patel,
Ph.D. D (ABMM), Science Team Lead, Antibiotic Resistance
Coordination and Strategy Unit, CDC. “To save lives and
protect people, it is vital to make technology accessible to
hospital labs nationwide.”
These efforts to detect drug-resistant bacteria and research
into new pathogens and drugs also allow scientists sharing
that information to help drive innovation of new antibiotics.
The CDC also collaborates with healthcare providers to help
control antibiotic use and slow the rate at which bacteria
develop resistance.
For Squires, part of her job is providing laboratory
demonstrations for scientists across the country. “When I
do demonstrations, people get excited and start thinking
through all the different processes that they can adapt to
dispensing with inkjet technology,” she says. “The person
using it puts whatever fluid they want in it, so we’re always
working to expand the capability and make it work with all
the different fluids our customers need to dispense.”
NEW ANTIBIOTICS REQUIRED
Today we are nearing the end of the age of antibiotics as we
know it. Some bacteria, like the case in Nevada, are already
resistant to all known classes of antibiotics. Without a para-
digm-shifting breakthrough, humanity could return to an era
in which even minor surgeries pose a deadly risk of infection.
Antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance currently represents
one of the greatest public health challenges of the modern
era. “Antimicrobial resistance is projected to kill more people
than cancer by 2050, and in the U.S., we already see signs of
pan-resistance hitting our shores,” Squires says. “So we’re
honored that the CDC asked if we’d make a commitment to
this global challenge.”
This article originally appeared on the Garage by HP.
Visit garage.ext.hp.com for more stories on how
technology is improving our world.
INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT
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