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Project

Antibiotic Resistance Project

Secciones

Antibiotic Innovation

The history of antibiotics is cyclical: Drugs are developed, but bacterial evolution can soon render them ineffective in treating infections. Antibiotic resistance is fueled by the injudicious use of existing drugs and compounded by a failure to develop novel new ones. Today there are not enough drugs in development to meet current and anticipated patient needs, with many major pharmaceutical companies limiting or stopping their investments in antibiotic innovation.

Pew works to develop and promote policies that will support the development of new antibiotics to ensure a healthy nation today and in the future. 

Getty Images
Getty Images

Economic Incentives Needed to Fix the Broken Antibiotic Market

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Antibiotic resistance, a critical public health and national security threat, requires a robust arsenal of novel drugs that bacteria won’t readily outsmart.

blue pills
blue pills
Data Visualization

Broken Antibiotics Market Puts Cancer Treatments at Risk

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Data Visualization

Despite antibiotics’ vital role in cancer care, companies have abandoned their development in favor of more profitable drugs. Antibiotics protect cancer patients from life-threatening complications and save lives.

Additional Resources

Data Visualization

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria is a Growing Threat, 2023

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Data Visualization

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose an urgent and growing public health threat. Common bacteria, such as those that cause urinary tract infections and sexually transmitted infections, are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. Without effective antibiotics, even simple infections could become deadly, making medical procedures like surgery, chemotherapy, and dialysis too dangerous.

Lab equipment
Lab equipment
Article

Explaining the Challenges in Finding Novel Antibiotics

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Article

The last time scientists discovered a novel class of antibiotics that would eventually make it to market was in 1984. That drug, daptomycin, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2003, nearly two decades after its discovery.

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Getty
Article

Antibiotic Resistance Is Not Theoretical

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Article

Doctors around the world are increasingly seeing patients with antibiotic-resistant infections, but the task of finding effective treatments to keep up with rapidly evolving superbugs is made more difficult by the economic challenges facing pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop new antibiotics.