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Antimicrobial resistance has been a long-standing pandemic of its own that has been overlooked. COVID has reinforced the urgency of breaking the culture of liberal antibiotic use. (Sumanth Gandra and Madhukar Pai, 11/18)

In new research published this year in The Lancet, drug-resistant infections were found to be at least partly responsible for nearly 5 million deaths worldwide in 2019. In comparison, Covid-19 — an emergency that prompted a global response unlike anything in recent history — killed at least 3 million people in 2020. (Carlos del Rio, 11/21)

Biosimilars, a much-lauded approach to reducing drug costs in the United States, are still underused here, even as they are proving successful in Europe. Why? Two key reasons are misperceptions of inferiority and the intricacies of U.S. market access. (Thomas Newcomer, 11/18)

Next year, for the first time, Medicare will be allowed to start negotiating the prices of some prescription drugs. The policy is expected to lower out-of-pocket costs and save the US government almost $100 billion over a decade. (11/17)

In August, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a warning about so-called “rainbow fentanyl,” calling it a “deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.” The resulting coverage in the media was all about sparking fear amongst parents nationwide and turning the public against policies of harm reduction. (Diane Goldstein, 11/20)