Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance

It took 20 years to turn the accidental discovery of penicillin into the world’s first mass produced drug that could clear a bacterial infection. Why did it take so long?

Antibiotics were nothing short of miraculous when they were first mass produced in 1940s. Infections from surgery, childbirth, even scraping your knee went from killing millions every year, to being easily treated.

As bacteria become increasingly resistant to the antibiotics we have relied on for decades, how are scientists developing new treatments to fight the infections of today?

While the search for new antibiotic drugs continues, scientists and medics are taking inspiration from past treatments and approaches to limit infection.