According to a study from Washington University in St. Louis, antimicrobial resistance killed upwards of 160,000 Americans in 2010. The reality is, more and more infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics and antifungals – and while Americans know this is a growing problem, few know how bad it already is.

Resistant superbugs are evolving much faster than we are inventing new medicines to fight back. Indeed, only one truly novel antibiotic has been approved over the past 35 years. Unless action is taken today, superbugs could kill 10 million people annually by 2050.

The reason why so few antibiotics are being developed is simple – the market is broken. Estimates show that it takes more than a decade to develop a new antibiotic or vaccine and can cost more than $1 billion. But even when a product does make it to the market, it might take a whopping 23 years to break even on its R&D investment.

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