Analysis: Antibiotics crisis prompts rethink on risks, rewards

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Thirty years ago, when the world faced the terrifying prospect of an untreatable disease known as AIDS, big drugmakers scented an opportunity and raced to develop new medicines. Today, as the world confronts another crisis, this time one of antibiotic resistance, the industry is doing the opposite. It is cutting research in a field that offers little scope for making money. Antibiotics have become victims of their own success. Seen as cheap, routine treatments, they are overprescribed and taken haphazardly, creating "superbugs" they can no longer fight. …