Please join us on April 7th at 4:15 pm for the final event in our Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland (CHOMI) spring seminar series:
How the pipeline ran dry: towards a critical historiography of the antibiotic pipeline (1970 2020).
Mirza Alas Portillo (UCD School of History)
The world relies on antimicrobial drugs to treat many infections in humans, animals, and plants. Of the antimicrobial drugs, antibiotics are the most crucial class. They are a cornerstone of medical and veterinary practice, including their critical importance for treating infections and their role in more complex medical procedures. However, the growing use of antimicrobials has also had a profound impact on the microbial environment. The more antimicrobial drugs are used, the more microorganisms adapt to resist their effects. Over time, many antimicrobial treatments become ineffective. Unfortunately, the pipeline for the discovery and development of new classes of antimicrobials has dried up since the 1980s. My presentation will focus on the emergence of the empty pipeline as a concept and how applying a critical historical approach can help us reappraise standard narratives of the dry pipeline as a market failure.
Please register here to attend digitally: https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iui54XxkRDaAcdH_aYNOtA
Please register here to attend physically at K114: https://forms.gle/LVKwTJtsHPomvXJh6
We strongly encourage all physical participants to wear a mask in the seminar room.
You can find the full research seminar programme here: https://www.ucd.ie/chomi/research/sems/
HSTM Network Ireland 