I don’t really understand the reason for the lack of new antibiotics. Is it fundamentally a scientific problem, in that all of the low- and even medium-hanging fruit has already been picked, so we’re more or less out of options? Or is it that the incentive to create new ones, at the expense of not spending money to create other more profitable drugs, is not adequate? Or is it something else?
Not much incentive to develop a drug that a person will take for a week or a month a few times in ones life. Better money on lifestyle drugs.
Bacteria and viruses can quickly change their DNA and RNA developing defense mechanisms that make it so that drugs that did kill them or keep them from reproducing no longer work. Sometimes it is difficult to locate the “source” of the genetic change. It’s kind of like an on going war.
However, the price of meds in the US is too high. Drug companies make too much money and drive up the cost of health care.
Actually there’s new anti-biotics all the time. The problem is there’s a functional limit to their strength. We already have ones on the market that are functionally too strong, they kill the good bacteria that make your guts work right and give you various problems, some of which can wind up permanent. Start making them too much stronger they’ll just start killing people outright.
“”I don’t really understand the reason for the lack of new antibiotics. Is it fundamentally a scientific problem, in that all of the low- and even medium-hanging fruit has already been picked, so we’re more or less out of options? Or is it that the incentive to create new ones, at the expense of not spending money to create other more profitable drugs, is not adequate? Or is it something else?””
The simple answer to your questions is MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!
Robin Cook has the answers in his books. Since he’s a doctor (eye), he has a good take on anything medical and I often wonder if he’s actually seen some of the scenarios in the plots of his stories. Beware, you will stay up all night to finish one of his novels.
“”To date, Cook has explored issues such as organ donation, fertility treatment, genetic engineering, in vitro fertilization, research funding, managed care, medical malpractice, medical tourism, drug research, and organ transplantation.””