HP Is 'Printing' Drugs for the CDC to Speed Up Antibiotic Testing

HP's Biohacker technology is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a pilot program to "print" and test antibiotics in an effort to retard the spread of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs, reports TechCrunch . The HP D300e Digital Dispenser BioPrinter technology uses the same setup as a conventional ink printer, but instead dispenses any combination of drugs in volumes from picoliters to microliters for research purposes. "To save lives and protect people, it is vital to make technology accessible to hospital labs nationwide," says the CDC's Jean Patel. "We hope this pilot will help ensure our newest drugs last longer and put gold-standard lab results in healthcare providers' hands faster." Superbugs spread rapidly often due to misuse of antibiotics, allowing the bacteria to develop a resistance to the drugs available. The CDC aims to give hospital providers access to the technology across the country to mitigate the problem. The HP BioPrinter is presently employed by labs and pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead, which tests for drugs used against the Ebola virus. It also is being used in various CRISPR applications. HP says the CDC will use these printers in four regional areas spread throughout the United States within the Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network to develop antimicrobial susceptibility test methods for new drugs.