Vancomycin was isolated in 1953 and used clinically by 1958, while teicoplanin was discovered in 1978 and became clinically-available in 1984. Telavancin is a semi-synthetic lipoglycopeptide derivative of vancomycin approved by FDA in 2009.
Teicoplanin has historically been more widely-marketed - and thus more used - in Europe compared to the U.S.  It has more fatty acid chains than vancomycin and is considered to be 50 to 100 times more lipophilic.  Teicoplanin also has an increased half-life compared to vancomycin, as well as having better tissue penetration.  It can be two to four times more active than vancomycin, but it does depend upon the organism.  Teicoplanin is more acidic, forming water-soluble salts, so it can be given intramuscularly.  Teicoplanin is much better at penetrating into leukocytes and phagocytes than vancomycin.
Since 2002, isolates of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) have been found in the USA and other countries.
Glycopeptides have typically been considered the last effective line of defense for cases of MRSA, however several newer classes of antibiotics have proven to have activity against MRSA- including, in 2000, linezolid of the oxazolidinone class, and in 2003 daptomycin of the lipopeptide class.