HP is ‘printing’ drugs for the CDC to speed up antibiotic testing

HP is employing its Biohacker technology, and working with the CDC on a pilot program to “print” and test antibiotics faster, in an attempt to catch the antimicrobial resistant strains faster and prevent them from spreading. The HP D300e Digital Dispenser BioPrinter technology works like a regular printer, dispensing very small volumes of drugs instead of ink. The technology should allow hospitals to test lower amounts of antibiotics to prevent the development of resistance. CDC hopes that the new technology will help ensure newest drugs last longer and put gold-standard lab results in healthcare providers’ hands faster. The HP BioPrinter is currently used by labs and pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead, which tests for drugs used against the Ebola virus. It is also being used in various CRISPR applications. The CDC will use these printers in four regional areas spread throughout the U.S. within the Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Lab Network to develop antimicrobial susceptibility test methods for new drugs, according to HP. @ https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/27/hp-is-printing-drugs-for-the-cdc-to-speed-up-antibiotic-testing/