STAT

Opinion: Innovative ways to pay for new antibiotics will help fight superbugs

Without inventive approaches to funding the development of new antibiotics, we risk living — and dying — in a post-antibiotic era.
A computer-generated image of a cluster of drug-resistant Campylobacter bacteria.

Antibiotics are the most important drug class in human history. Without them, minor infections like strep throat or urinary tract infections could turn deadly. Heart surgery, cancer treatment, and virtually everything else that happens in a hospital would be far more dangerous than it is today. But if we keep taking them for granted, and fail to provide innovative approaches to funding the development of new antibiotics, drug-resistant microbes will get the upper hand.

Although we’ve made great strides in the development of antibiotics since the discovery of penicillin in the early 20th century, we aren’t keeping up with the — common bacteria that have acquired genes that make them resistant to most or all of our antibiotics. “[T]he end of the road isn’t very far away for antibiotics,” Dr. Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from STAT

STAT1 min read
STAT+: IVF Doctors Demand Full Details On Fluid That Grows Embryos Amid CooperSurgical Lawsuits
Patients from all over the country are filing lawsuits against medical supply giant CooperSurgical, alleging that fluid the company sent to in vitro fertilization clinics destroyed their embryos. The fluid, called culture media, is filled with nutrie
STAT1 min read
Disparities In Donor Acceptance Rates Point To Need For More Equitable Heart Transplant Care
While access to donor hearts has increased, there are still gender- and race-based disparities in the acceptance rate of a donor heart offer by transplant teams, a new study finds.
STAT1 min read
STAT+: AstraZeneca Sues Arkansas Over The Role Of Pharmacies In A Federal Discount Drug Program
AstraZeneca filed a lawsuit seeking to block an Arkansas law that requires the company to ship its medicines to any pharmacy working with hospitals participating in a federal discount program.

Related Books & Audiobooks