lives of many could be at stake, with pharmaceutical giants shying away from the development of new antibiotics. Prominent experts have expressed this concern at the much-acclaimed 43rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, organised from September 14-17, 2003, in Chicago, usa. They allege that many companies, such as Roche and Eli Lilly, are just concentrating on the treatments of chronic illnesses. Signs of the retreat were quite clear during the meet. As compared to last year, there were 10 per cent fewer presentations pertaining to new drugs; there was even a slump in the number of the industry's representatives.

The change is quite untimely