THE END OF ANTIBIOTICS?

By EmmaZahn on Wed, 11/13/2013 - 12:17pm |

For many years, the problem of resistance remained hypothetical because drug companies were consistently introducing new types of antibiotic. But antibiotics are a one-and-done treatment, and are far less profitable for Big Pharma than drugs taken daily to treat chronic conditions and, preferably, have no competition to keep costs down.

“What we found is that the pace of development of new antibiotics really began to slow down about a decade ago, and now we began encountering these highly resistant infections, and we didn’t have new antibiotics to use,” said Srinivasan.

We’re in an evolutionary war with bacteria, but one of our best defenses pulled out due to economic incentives, as one commenter said in response.

URL:

http://singularityhub.com/2013/11/07/the-end-of-antibiotics/

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This is a public health issue and government has a roll to play in this. I would like to see government jump in and set up research for new drugs to fight bacteria. Also all the cost cutting that was done the last 2 decades in research grants from the government has also contributed to the pull out of drug companies from this. We need to get back into doing this for the common good not for profit. That takes a push from the government.

by trkingmomoe on Wed, 11/13/2013 - 3:16pm

The problem is not that new antibiotics aren't being developed. And its not that antibiotics are over prescribed to humans. In a small way they contribute to the problem. The main problem by far is the use of antibiotics in livestock. 80% of antibiotic use in the US is used in livestock. And the way its often used is extremely favorable for the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, small daily doses for the life of the animal. This article briefly mentions livestock antibiotic use in one paragraph then ignores it when offering solutions. The most useful solution is to highly regulate or ban antibiotic use in the livestock industry.

by ocean-kat on Wed, 11/13/2013 - 5:25pm

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