ABSTRACT
Vancomycin was isolated in the Lilly Research Laboratories from Amycolatopsis orientalis (previously designated Streptomyces orientalis and Nocardia orientalis), an organism that was found in the soil in Borneo (McCormick et al., 1956). Originally nicknamed “Mississippi mud” because of impurities causing a brownish color, the current vancomycin hydrochloride (Vancocin®) is more than 92% pure.
