This newsletter is part of a series — here are the links to Part 1, Part 2, (this one is Part 3), Part 4, and Part 5. You might also enjoy the discussion of AI-supported discovery in this May 2026 video from Nature. Dear All, As a coda to the two newsletters on Chemicals, Drugs, and Halicin (link and
This newsletter is part of a series — here are the links to Part 1, (this one is Part 2), Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. Also relevant is the 5 April 2024 newsletter entitled “48,015 → 0: Antibacterial Discovery Is Hard. Really, Really Hard.“ You might also enjoy the discussion of AI-supported discovery in this May 2026 video from
This newsletter is the first of a series — here are the links to Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. You might also enjoy the discussion of AI-supported discovery in this May 2026 video from Nature. Dear All, Today’s theme is a 3-part journey that could be subtitled “Many are called, but few
Dear All (wonkish but intended for everybody to read and absorb): 27 Jan 2021 update: This topic now has its own YouTube video! As the ideas here are VERY confusing, I suggest you make the time to watch the video, read the newsletter, and then watch the video one more time. I have yet to
Note: See also these related newsletters: 20 Feb 2020 (link) on DTR as part of the language of resistance and 7 June 2020 (link) on using DTR to estimate antibiotic value. There is also a 5-minute DTR explainer on YouTube that you might find useful. Dear All: When thinking about studies of resistant pathogens, issues
Dear All, In a report entitled Understanding the Antibiotic Manufacturing Ecosystem: A view of global supply chains, pressure points, and implications for antimicrobial resistance response, the Boston Consulting Group and Wellcome Trust have examined at length the questions of (i) how the #FireExtinguishersOfMedicine are made and (ii) how they can be made with the least impact
Dear All, Non-traditional alternatives to antibiotics have excited a lot of interest in the past few years but we’ve seen relatively few of these progress in a meaningful way (go here for Pew’s recent survey of the development landscape). Providing insights into the challenges of this area, two valuable and complementary articles on non-traditional antibiotics have recently
See also This related newsletter: 14 Jul 2022, entitled “WHO Vaccine Pipeline Review; CDC On Impact Of COVID On AMR.” This 20 Oct 2024 report from WHO: “Estimating the impact of vaccines in reducing antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use: technical report” This 25 Apr 2024 paper in Lancet Global Health by Hausdorff and colleagues: “Facilitating
Dear All (and with thanks to Kevin Outterson for co-authoring this newsletter), The recent discussions of the NICE/NHS England pilot subscription model (detailed newsletter plus follow-up FAQ newsletter) and a new paper by Chantal Morel and colleagues on the idea of an Antibiotic Susceptibility Bonus (ASB, link) bring to the fore the question of how to value any given
Dear All (and with thanks to Kevin Krause for co-authoring this newsletter), The elements that contribute to the all-in cost of an antibiotic have been reviewed in two prior newsletters: 6 Mar 2020 (focused on cost of R&D to approval): What does an antibiotic cost to develop? What is it worth? How to afford it? 7 Jan