Only a few drugmakers even try to fight superbugs — a growing threat

Progress in tackling drug-resistant infections isn’t keeping pace with the rising threat, according to the latest Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark, published Tuesday by the Access to Medicine Foundation. The pipeline of new antibiotics in advanced tests remains too small, the nonprofit found.

News from the field is grim as low profits discourage investment in crucial antibiotics. Since the group’s last report in 2018, two major players, Novartis and Sanofi, have retreated from antibiotic research as the pharma industry shifts toward lucrative areas such as cancer. And two smaller drug developers, Achaogen Inc. and Melinta Therapeutics, have filed for bankruptcy.

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