We really need new antibiotics

Ray Blanco of our science-and-wealth team.“We take them for granted, but it really wasn't all that long ago that a trivial injury could become infected and kill you.“For example, back in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge's 16-year-old son got a blister on his foot playing tennis. The blister became infected. Calvin Jr. died of sepsis within a week.”And we’re in grave danger of those bad old days coming back: “Unlike other drugs, antibiotics stop working over time. Bacteria evolve resistance, and eventually, even our best drugs can no longer kill them.“Bacteria have a number of ways to evade antibiotics. They can create biofilms, putting a physical barrier up against a drug. They can evolve enzymes that break down an antibiotic as fast as it crosses a bacterial cell wall. Bacteria also have molecular ‘pumps’ in their interiors, and they can evolve ways to move antibiotic compounds out.“Once a bacterial strain develops resistance to all of our existing drugs, it can no longer be stopped. It kills.“This means that a steady stream of new antibiotics is required. And a new antibiotic that can kill multidrug-resistant strains will command top dollar on the market.”[Ed. note: Ray is on the case of a company developing one of these desperately needed antibiotics. So far, his recommendation is up 72%… and remarkably, he says it’s still a buy.It’s companies like these that are responsible for the fortunes of people Ray calls the “coffee shop millionaires.” Who are they… and how can you become one?