THE PRICE OF SUCCESS
“Drug resistance is the product of success: With treatment, we have drug resistance,” explains Eric Rubin, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at HSPH. So far, says Rubin, new drugs have helped doctors stave off the threat. A continuous stream of treatments for HIV has extended patients’ lives. More drugs for TB have entered the pharmaceutical pipeline than for any other bacterial infection. And novel anti-malarial compounds will soon enter clinical trials. “I’m optimistic about the ability to innovate. I think it will continue,” says Rubin. “But when poverty and poor access to health care occur together, resistance becomes a much bigger problem. Until brand-new drugs are widely available, a lot of people are going to die.”
HOW RESISTANCE EMERGES
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