The drug, called “Staphefekt,” is already available in Holland and Germany as a cream to treat skin infections such as acne, but researchers hope to develop a tablet form of the drug within five years to treat serious infections.
Mark Offerhaus, chief executive of Dutch firm Micreos, told Sky News that bacteria are unlikely to evolve resistance to the treatment.
"(It) will drill holes in the bacterial cell wall from the outside," he said.
"This goes really fast, in a matter of seconds. There is no time to develop resistance. This is a really important day in the history of antimicrobial treatment."
Overuse of antibiotics has led to a growing problem of drug resistance.
Around 5,000 patients a year die from once treatable infections and British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that the rise of superbugs could take medicine "back to the dark ages."
Staphefekt uses an enzyme called endolysin, which is found in viruses that attack bacteria.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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