New superbug antibiotic to treat sepsis and pneumonia enters last phase of testing
IndependentMAY 27
Roche Advances First New Antibiotic in 50 Years to Phase 3 Trials
Above: The Madrid headquarters of Roche, a multinational pharmaceutical company, on Dec. 27, 2021. Image copyright: Cristina Arias/Cover via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
This exciting discovery could save millions of lives. Currently, CRAB is an urgent public health threat with no effective treatment options, killing between 40% and 60% of those patients who contract it. If Roche’s phase 3 clinical trial succeeds, zosurabalpin may pioneer a breakthrough in antimicrobial medicine that could revolutionize health outcomes for countless patients.
Narrative B
Despite Roche’s noble efforts, the harsh reality remains that even promising antibiotics face enormous hurdles in a broken market system. Routinely, the current model disincentives the research of life-saving drugs due to the minimal profits and high costs. The simple fact that it has taken 50 years to find a new CRAB-tackling antibiotic shows the systemic failure of the market to find solutions to our most pressing problems.