In 1957, vancomycin was isolated by Dr. E.C. Kornfield, an organic chemist with Eli Lilly in the deep jungles in Borneo from a fungus named Streptomyces orientalis. Soil samples from that jungle of where the fungus was isolated yielded in broth fermentation a compound that was highly effective and bactericidal against Staphylococci. The original product-vancomycin, obtained by fermentation, contained considerable amounts (up to 70%) of impurities, and had a brown color earning it the nickname “Mississippi Mud.”

Vancomycin remains the first-line agent for methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative and coagulase-positive staphylococcal infections, including bacteremia, endocarditis, pneumonia, cellulitis, and osteomyelitis. In addition, it is used to treat serious Gram-positive infections among patients who are allergic to semi-synthetic penicillins or cephalosporins.