Why does pathogen evolution often outpace the discovery of new antibiotics?
Answer
Resistance mechanisms require only minor alterations to negate a drug, while new drugs require novel, complex mechanisms overcoming body defenses.
Drugs are designed as specific toxins; resistance only needs a small change, like modifying a binding site or creating one enzyme, to negate the function. Conversely, developing a new antibiotic requires a novel compound that must successfully navigate the body's defenses and reach the pathogen at a high enough concentration.
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