Repurposing Ivacaftor for treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections

•Ivacaftor exhibits concentration-dependent bactericidal activity against S. aureus.•Ivacaftor has potent in vivo activity comparable to vancomycin in a murine neutropenic thigh infection model.•Ivacaftor could potentially be repurposed against S. aureus infections

Drug repurposing of non-antimicrobials is a novel method to augment a seriously depleted drug pipeline for targeting drug-resistant pathogens. This article highlights the potent antimicrobial activity of Ivacaftor against Staphylococcus aureus, including vancomycin- and other multidrug-resistant strains. The potent activity of Ivacaftor in vivo is also demonstrated in a murine neutropenic thigh infection model. Taken together, these results support the potential of Ivacaftor as an antimicrobial agent for the treatment of staphylococcal infections.