The Biden administration’s pandemic agenda must not ignore superbugs

What if another devastating pandemic came on the heels of Covid-19?

Unfortunately, that looks increasingly possible. For years, the antibiotics used to fight various bacterial infections have grown gradually less effective. If current trends continue, these antibiotics could stop working altogether in the near future, leaving humanity vulnerable to deadly, drug-resistant “superbugs.”

Preventing this public health threat will require an aggressive, federally backed effort to develop new and more potent antibiotics. As the Biden administration begins thinking about pandemic preparedness, it should focus on jump-starting innovation in developing new antimicrobial drugs.