STAT | Imagine if scientists had seen Covid-19 coming years in advance yet did little to prepare. Unthinkable, right? Yet that’s exactly what’s happening with another infectious disease crisis — the one caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi. Superbugs already kill more than 700,000 people each year. And the World Health Organization warns that by 2050 the annual death toll could reach 10 million if we don’t use the time to get prepared. The antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs needed to prevent such a calamity don’t yet exist. The problem isn’t a lack of willing scientists, but rather a broken marketplace that has made it virtually impossible for researchers to attract adequate funding. In this opinion piece, Kevin Outterson and John Rex argue that lawmakers must act to address the economic obstacles to innovation. If they don’t, we could face another public health crisis as formidable as COVID19.