CDC & FDA Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Isolate Bank

On This Page

The CDC and FDA AR Isolate Bank provides information on resistance to support innovation in diagnostics and drug development. CDC provides isolates (pure samples of a germ) to approved institutions. Access the AR Isolate Bank.

“The isolates helped us challenge our diagnostic tests to ensure they can detect a variety of resistance targets,”
-Biotechnology company”

The AR Isolate Bank shipped more than 2,000 isolate panels as of January 2018.

Advancing the Fight against Antibiotic Resistance

As of December 2019, the AR Isolate Bank shipped more than 3,900 isolate panels. The AR Isolate Bank helps:

Strengthen diagnostics by validating lab tests
Inform research and development to
- develop drugs like antibiotics and antifungals
- develop diagnostic devices, tests, or assays
- satisfy a request or support an application to FDA
Perform testing to ensure drug effectiveness
Study biology and pathogenic mechanisms
Detect new and unusual public health resistance threats

This work ultimately improves patient care and builds solutions against resistance threats.

Why the AR Isolate Bank is Unique

CDC has one of the largest collections of isolates gathered from national reference labs and tracking activities, taken from specimens in healthcare, food, and the community, like gonorrhea.

Samples are assembled based on public health threats.
Isolates are delivered in panels, not piecemeal.
It allows researchers to quickly and easily obtain the specific samples they need.
It reduces obstacles that may keep companies or researchers from engaging in finding resistance solutions.
Samples are accompanied by publicly available data to improve efficiencies.
It offers a convenient ordering system that increases efficiency.

Order Isolates

Access the AR Isolate Bank to order isolates. Isolates are provided at no cost to approved institutions, and customers pay for shipping.

Isolates Available from Other Resources

The Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs) Isolate Bank includes an extensive collection of isolates: group A Streptococcus, group B Streptococcus, Streptoccocus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus influenzae. ABCs is a core program within CDC’s Emerging Infections Programs (EIP) network, and is an active laboratory- and population-based surveillance system for invasive bacterial pathogens of public health importance.
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) Virtual Repositoryexternal icon provides researchers with clinically well-characterized gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
BEI Resourcesexternal icon was established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to provide tools and information for studying Category A, B, and C priority pathogens, emerging infectious disease agents, non-pathogenic microbes (germs), and other microbiological materials of relevance (e.g., reagents) to the research community.