Antibiotics

1 The Perfect Storm; 2 The Miracle; 3 Resistance - The miracle is fading; 4 The FDA - We need them, but they have become part of the problem; 5 Europe; 6 The Pharmaceutical Industry - after a glorious history, the industry is now struggling on all fronts; 7 Modest Proposals; 8 Conclusions

From the reviews:

There can be few if any individuals in the world more qualified than David Shlaes to tackle the subject of antibiotics and the coming crisis posed by the twin problems of developing resistance among major human pathogens and a dwindling output of new agents with which to combat the serious infections they cause. As Dr. Shlaes clearly points out, all of this is compounded by rapid consolidation of the pharmaceutical industry and failure of regulatory agencies (especially in the United States) to provide effective oversight and guidance. Shlaes has done it all. He is a physician who knows clinical medicine, a researcher who has studied antimicrobial resistance, an administrator who has served effectively to develop new antibiotics in industry, and a consultant who understands the Food and Drug Administration from intense personal involvement. He is also a talented writer who has made this subject fascinating and understandable, even to the non-scientist! His effective use of personal vignettes and inside reporting adds to the pleasure in reading this spell-binding account. Robert C. Moellering, Jr., M.D. Shields Warren-Mallinckrodt Professor of Medical Research Harvard Medical School Department of Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA USA Society is facing two converging crises: increasing antibiotic resistance and dying antibiotic development. Few understand these crises better than Dr. Shlaes, who spent years treating patients as an academic physician-scientist and then spent years in industry overseeing efforts to develop new antibiotics. In Antibiotics - The Perfect Storm, Dr. Shlaes explains how society has reached the desperate straights we are in, and describes what can be done to turn around the antibiotic crisis. His book offers a scathing, behind-the-scenes view into pharmaceutical companies and federal agencies which regulate them. Brad Spellberg Division of General Internal Medicine, Los Angeles Biomedical