2023-11-15 05:32:27
The investment costs in the research and commercialization of new antibiotics are high and the drugs yield almost no benefits. Hence, more and more large pharmaceutical companies are withdrawing from the development of antibiotics.
The independent, non-profit organization, Acces to Medicine Foundation, based in the Netherlands, warns of the great threat of drug resistance and demands more efforts from the pharmaceutical sector.
According to the German Pharmaceutical Industry Business Association (Vfa), globally, only 68 active substances are being clinically studied and 292 projects are in a preclinical phase, something that would not be enough.
More deaths due to antibiotic resistance
According to a publication in the specialized magazine The Lancet By 2022, the death toll related to antibiotic resistance is estimated to reach almost five million people.
However, it is not clear whether the original pathogen or resistant bacteria were responsible for the deaths. The sub-Saharan region is the most affected in the world, but industrialized countries are also facing this problem.
Few companies produce
However, the production of medicines is also stagnant. According to the Access to Medicine Foundation, most companies that produce antibiotics are large pharmaceutical companies, often responsible for more than 200 products that they export around the world.
If these companies change their strategy and stop producing antibiotics, especially people in low- and middle-income countries will no longer be able to access them. As a consequence, more people die globally because they do not receive the appropriate medication and not because of the pathogens themselves.
Likewise, the Access to Medicine Foundation has identified more than 100 problem countries, where access to medicines urgently needs to be improved. Only few of the novel antibiotics are available in more than ten of these countries, and the chances of the new antibiotics reaching people are low.
Limited marketing
The Netherlands-based organization is also trying to influence pharmaceutical companies to market and distribute their medicines responsibly and not promote excessive prescription of antibiotics by doctors, in order to prevent the development of new resistant bacteria.
Greater transparency
Some companies have begun to share their knowledge about resistance with clinics and researchers. American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, for example, published data from its internal monitoring program in a publicly accessible registry. At least, this is a first step.
Other pharmaceutical research and production companies have developed marketing strategies for approved drugs so that they can be distributed and used relatively quickly.
However, despite these small advances, the problem is far from being solved. The reality is that antibiotic resistance develops very quickly, in less time than it takes for new antibiotics to become available.
Although the costs for research, development and production are high, a world without effective antibiotics could cost us much more.
Limited marketing
The Netherlands-based organization is also trying to influence pharmaceutical companies to market and distribute their medicines responsibly and not promote excessive prescription of antibiotics by doctors, in order to prevent the development of new resistant bacteria.
Greater transparency
Some companies have begun to share their knowledge about resistance with clinics and researchers. American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, for example, published data from its internal monitoring program in a publicly accessible registry. At least, this is a first step.
Other pharmaceutical research and production companies have developed marketing strategies for approved drugs so that they can be distributed and used relatively quickly.
However, despite these small advances, the problem is far from being solved. The reality is that antibiotic resistance develops very quickly, in less time than it takes for new antibiotics to become available.
Although the costs for research, development and production are high, a world without effective antibiotics could cost us much more.
(vt/ms)
#drastic #increase #antibiotic #shortages