Help power Marketplace this winter when you support the show today. Donate Now!

The free market is failing us on antibiotics

Dec 22, 2022
The free market is pretty simple: There’s supply, there’s demand, they meet somewhere in the middle. If there’s a need, there’s a product. But sometimes, that system breaks down, as it has in the market for antibiotics.
Above, a pharmacist measures out antibiotic pills. Only a handful of biotechs are currently developing new antibiotics.  
Joe Raedle/Getty Images