Dalbavancin
A skin-infection antibiotic that can be a single infusion
Dalbavancin is a lipoglycopeptide antibiotic: a natural glycopeptide modified with a fatty tail that anchors it in membranes and plasma proteins. Its effective half-life of about 8.5 days means a course of treatment can be one infusion, or two a week apart.
What is it?
Glycopeptide antibiotics such as vancomycin kill Gram-positive bacteria by binding the building blocks of their cell wall. Dalbavancin adds a lipid side chain, which anchors it in the bacterial membrane and binds it to plasma proteins, giving an effective half-life of about 8.5 days. The practical consequence is a course that takes one or two visits rather than a week or more of daily infusions.
The DISCOVER 1 and DISCOVER 2 trials pooled 1,312 patients with skin infections: early clinical response was 79.7% on dalbavancin and 79.8% on vancomycin followed by linezolid. Among patients with Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA, clinical success was 90.6% and 93.8%.
Its label warns of hypersensitivity, infusion-related reactions, liver effects and Clostridioides difficile diarrhoea. A pooled safety analysis found lower rates of kidney toxicity than with at least 10 days of intravenous vancomycin (3.7% against 9.3%).
Children are covered by the approval. In the paediatric study, dosing was by age and weight, with clinical response assessed from 48 hours to 54 days after treatment, and audiology and bowel flora checked in a subset.
At a Glance
Every value in this table is printed from the Grey Peptides dataset, the same record the compound explorer and comparison tool read, so the three can never disagree.
Educational information, not medical advice. The doses on this page come from approved labels, published studies and, where no study exists, amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
Half-Life: How Much Remains
The dataset records a half-life of effective half-life about 8.5 days (204 hours); terminal half-life about 346 hours for Dalbavancin. After each half-life, half of what was in the circulation is gone, so about 3% remains after five. Real clearance varies with the person, the dose, the route and kidney or liver function; this is arithmetic on a published figure, not a dosing tool.
Published Research
The studies behind dalbavancin, from their PubMed abstracts.
DISCOVER 1 and 2: once-weekly against daily therapy
In the pooled analysis of 1,312 patients with skin infections, early clinical response was 79.7% on dalbavancin and 79.8% on vancomycin-linezolid, meeting noninferiority; with S. aureus, including MRSA, success was 90.6% against 93.8%.
DOTS: Staphylococcus aureus in the bloodstream
In 200 participants, the probability of a more desirable day-70 outcome with dalbavancin against standard therapy was 47.7%; clinical efficacy was documented in 73 of 100 and 72 of 100, meeting noninferiority, with serious adverse events in 40 and 34.
Kidney safety against vancomycin
Among 1,325 patients on any dalbavancin regimen, kidney toxicity occurred in 3.7%, against 9.3% of 54 patients given intravenous vancomycin for at least 10 days.
Children with skin infections
In a phase 3 open-label study, children from birth to under 18 received single-dose or two-dose dalbavancin or a comparator antibiotic; treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 7.2% and 9.0% of the dalbavancin groups and 3.3% of comparator patients.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
From the studies above.
Contraindications & Cautions
Warnings from the Dalvance label (DailyMed, effective January 13, 2025).
Legal Status
Dalbavancin is an approved prescription drug in the US.
Frequently Asked Questions
?Is dalbavancin a peptide?
Yes, in the broad sense: it is a glycopeptide, a peptide core carrying sugars, modified with a fatty side chain, which is why the class is called lipoglycopeptides.
?How long does one dose of dalbavancin last?
Its effective half-life is about 8.5 days, which is why a skin infection can be treated with a single 1,500 mg infusion or two doses a week apart.
?What is dalbavancin used for?
Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, in adults and children. It has also been studied for bloodstream infection.
References
- [fda] US FDA, Drugs@FDA (openFDA): DALVANCE, NDA 021883 (May 23, 2014). Read October 3, 2026.
- [fda-pi] FDA. Dalvance (dalbavancin) US prescribing information (DailyMed set 4b4674d8-4d1e-4728-8465-d42ada33fa5c, effective January 13, 2025). Read October 3, 2026.
- [clinical-trial] Boucher HW, et al. "Once-weekly dalbavancin versus daily conventional therapy for skin infection." N Engl J Med, 2014;370(23):2169-79. PMID: 24897082.
- [clinical-trial] Turner NA, et al. "Dalbavancin for Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia: The DOTS Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA, 2025;334(10):866-77. PMID: 40802264.
- [pubmed] Gonzalez PL, et al. "Safety of Dalbavancin in the Treatment of Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI): Nephrotoxicity Rates Compared with Vancomycin: A Post Hoc Analysis of Three Clinical Trials." Infect Dis Ther, 2021;10(1):471-481. PMID: 33515414.
- [pubmed] Giorgobiani M, et al. "The Safety and Efficacy of Dalbavancin and Active Comparator in Pediatric Patients With Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections." Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2023;42(3):199-205. PMID: 36476623.
Sources & Citations
Studies were read from their PubMed records; regulatory sources are listed below, read October 3, 2026.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Consult a licensed healthcare provider before making health decisions.