The antibiotics crisis isn’t the fault of science – it’s market failure

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phenomenon wherein microbes evolve to survive the drugs and chemicals used to kill them leading to the rise in drug-resistant infections.

there is a deeper challenge: antibiotic resistance is as much about access and economics as it is about biology.

most of these companies quit antibiotic research and development (R&D) due to tighter regulations including for licensing trials, coupled with a management focus on maximising shareholder value. They switched to higher-profit, non-infectious drugs such as Ozempic (for diabetes) and Keytruda (cancer).

The current estimated return on investment – or net present value – for new antibiotics stands at negative US$50 million, meaning that companies developing antibiotics will lose money. 

Qn: Consider the view that science solves all problems. (JPJC Prelim 2025)