But don't look for many new ABs in the pharmaceutical pipeline. There's less money in developing drugs taken for 10 days (unless you're an animal) than in heart, arthritis, diabetes and psychoactive meds taken for life. And recent AB development disasters-- Ketek (black boxed for hepatotoxicity) Trovan (severely restricted for hepatotoxicity) and Zyvox (part of the biggest fraud settlement in US history)--don't raise hopes.
Of course there are other ways to attack bacteria. Scientists are looking at algeliferin, isolated from sponge, which can break down bacteria's biofilm, radiation, ultrasound, chlorine dioxide and ammonia (reported to produce E. coli laced "pink slime" for the school lunch program by the New York Times last month.)
Scientists are even talking about seraticin, an AB isolated from the secretions of maggots from the common green bottle fly. And bacteriophages, intracellular parasites that multiply inside bacteria like viruses, a "new" therapy discovered in 1915.
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