The “golden age of antibiotics” lasted from the early 1940s to the late 1960s. It was a period of rapid innovation that transformed medicine. As highlighted in this chart, nearly two-thirds of all antibiotic drug classes were introduced during this period.
This led to breakthroughs in antibiotics derived from soil-dwelling bacteria, such as streptomycin, tetracyclines, and macrolides, and the mass production of penicillin, which Alexander Fleming discovered in 1928.
However, progress slowed after the 1970s as pharmaceutical companies shifted their focus to chronic diseases. Today, there is a renewed need for innovation to tackle antibiotic resistance.
(This Daily Data Insight was written by @scientificdiscovery.dev.)
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(This Daily Data Insight was written by @scientificdiscovery.dev.)