Gram-negative bacterial infections
This article reports about the rise of gram-negative infections for which there are no useful antibiotics. Gram-negative bacteria have a complex outer membrane that protects the cell from among other things certain antibiotics. Hence, as the article points out, it is imperative that we develop NEW antibiotics to treat gram-negative pathogens- especially those that are already multi-drug resistant. Drug-companies are abandoning antibiotic development; there are simple economic reasons for this: 1) antibiotics are only taken for a short period and hence aren’t nearly as profitable as say a statin which is taken daily (being chronically ill, unfit, unwell, etc is a cash cow for the health”care” industry), 2) why spend hundreds of millions on developing an antibiotic that may be rendered useless through drug resistance selection.