The only solution is to develop new antibiotics. Easier said that done. Research takes time and a lot of money. And the approval process takes years. But they know the old approaches won t work.
Super bugs require more sophisticated weapons.
Some of the most promising avenues appear to be in genetic engineering, something that big drug companies don t know much about. So several of them working to find new bacterial targets have gone into partnership with the biotech company Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Another biotech company, Microcide Pharmaceuticals, has also partnered with the drug giant Pfizer to attack what they believe is the Achilles heel of bacteria, their genetic structure. Our approach has been genetically directed to identify those weak spots in the bacteria which have through mutation we could eliminate for a while and then put back the bacteria will die. That s what we want a drug to do.