Dalvance is a synthetic lipoglycopeptide antibiotic synthesized from a fermentation product of bacteria classified as Nonomuraea species. Lipoglycopeptide antibiotics have a lipophilic side chain that is linked to glycopeptides. Bacteria have cell walls that are made of peptidoglycan. In an event of infection, bacteria rapidly grow and they need cell walls to survive. Antibiotics such as Dalvance kill bacteria by inhibiting cell wall synthesis and preventing cross-linking of peptidoglycan. This causes the cell wall to weaken and kills susceptible bacteria.