Credit: David Parkins

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an inevitable evolutionary process — resistance will occur, and it will spread globally. We are in a race to maintain a portfolio of effective antibiotics, and we are falling behind.

Creating an antibiotic has become a daunting task. Development is long and expensive, yet antibiotics are used for short durations and sold at relatively low prices. Newly developed antibiotics are often also reserved for use as a last resort, to protect the drugs’ efficacy. This combination of factors makes it difficult for a company to recoup their investment, and has led to an exodus of organizations and scientific talent from antibiotic research and development. The pipeline of drugs has been reduced to a trickle, and deaths resulting from antibiotic resistance are increasing.

To keep pace with AMR, the flawed economic model of antibiotic development must be addressed.…