With MRSA threatening to infect huge numbers of patients who make even short trips to the hospital, and the gradual increase in the number of bacteria that are resistant to all known antiobiotics, scientists are turning to new ways to conquer the killer bugs. The emergence of dangerous antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria is most prevalent in the USA where antibiotics are available over the counter and are often mishandled.

The answers to these problems may be locked in the science of the former Soviet Union, and whether this potential can be unlocked depends on subtle aspects of intellectual property and patent law, since pharmaceutical companies must be able to control the revenues from a discovery.