The article looks at how economics drives health in modern societies. It argues that health problems are often blamed on the behaviour of people, the attitudes of communities or organisational decisions, overlooking how commercial decisions of health providers impact on community and individual health. The research uses a case study of market economics to demonstrate how commercial interests have negatively influenced the development of new antibiotics. They argue that “[h]ealthcare providers run as businesses beholden to budget bottom lines, and healthcare itself is transformed into a commodity (available to some but not necessarily to others). Equally, R&D is constrained by crude financial calculations that stall or prevent important work that might deliver considerable benefits to human health”.