Do’s and DOTS: contextualizing a clinical trial evaluating dalbavancin use in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia

As practicing infectious disease physicians, clinical trialists, and regular prescribers of dalbavancin, we read the recently published dalbavancin as an option for treatment of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (DOTS) trial by Turner et al. [1] with great interest. We can expect to see an increased use of long-acting lipoglycopeptides in the future, based on the number of real-world reports that are being published [2–4], the fact that the patent for dalbavancin is expiring in the European Union in February 2026 (Anna Flodgren, Medical Advisor Nordics at ADVANZ PHARMA, 1 October 2025, personal communication), and that the expected compound annual growth rate is 12.5% for dalbavancin from 2026 to 2033 [5].