GD9 CTW fileÒ  Medical13, × The first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered about seven decades ago. It was not until the forties, however, that it could be produced in large enough quantities to be used as a drug that could cure bacterial diseases. Other wonder drugs emerged, and a golden age of medicine began. Before long, however, it was seen that some bacteria could withstand these miracle drugs. Many people just do not realize that antibiotics fight bacteria, but they do not affect a virus. Scientists agree that these miracle drugs have been used excessively, and too often they are prescribed in error for non-bacterial diseases. The result is that at least two dozen kinds of bugs have shown that they do have a resistance to at least one of these drugs. Many doctors believe that the bugs are winning in the war between people and bacteria. Some even think that it may be too late to do much about it. Many of the larger drug firms appeared to be blind to the problem and cut back on their research funding during the eighties. High cost is a factor, of course. The total research costs to get a drug to market are close to three hundred million dollars. Is it too late? Big dollars are now being invested by the pharmaceutical firms, and it is likely that newer and different antibiotics will arrive on the market in five or ten years. A promising breakthrough may be in the use of peptide antibiotics; a cream for the treatment of infected diabetic foot ulcers may be on the market late next year.