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Posted on 08/25/2012 10:31:56 PM PDT by null and void
As doctors battled a deadly, drug-resistant superbug at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center last year, they turned to an antibiotic of last resort.
But colistin, is not a fancy new creation of modern biotechnology. It was discovered in a beaker of fermenting bacteria in Japan — in 1949.
That doctors have resorted to such an old, dangerous drug — colistin causes kidney damage — highlights the lack of new antibiotics coming out of the pharmaceutical pipeline ...
Experts point to three reasons pharmaceutical companies have pulled back from antibiotics ... There is not much money in it; inventing new antibiotics is technically challenging; and, in light of drug safety concerns, the FDA has made it difficult for companies to get new antibiotics approved.
While a new antibiotic may bring in a billion dollars over its lifetime, Shlaes said, a drug for heart disease may net $10 billion. Depression and erectile dysfunction drugs — typically taken daily for years, unlike antibiotics, which are used short-term — are also more profitable than antibiotics.
Shlaes said that concerns about antibiotic safety — driven by deaths linked to the drug Ketek that came to light in 2006 — have made the FDA reluctant to approve new antibiotics. “They’ve basically made it impossible for companies to develop and market antibiotics in the U.S.,” he said.
Ed Cox, head of the FDA’s office of microbial products, said the agency is “looking at new approaches” for speeding up the approval of new antibiotics, such as requiring smaller clinical studies and allowing research with patients such as those who have multiple infections.
Shlaes characterized the moves at FDA as “trying to paint themselves out of a corner.”
In a recent survey of infectious disease specialists, Spellberg said, 60 percent reported encountering infections resistant to every antibiotic.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
anti pharma strikes again. It will get worse under O care
I got a great idea. Let’s stick it to the evil Big-Pharma. Bleed the greedy bastards dry.
Back to DU with you, Barack...
Oil of Oregano kicks anything’s ass.
And, colloidal silver.
Exactly. As hospitals are forced to cut corners, they will not be as careful nor as competent as they were, and the number and severity of infections will increase. Welcome to socialized medicine... you would be better off seeing a witch doctor.
Look at the bright side: the evil pharmaceutical companies can no longer make obscene profits by developing and selling new antibiotics! Isn’t that wonderful?
*snrk* perfect!
“Oil of Oregano kicks anything’s ass.”
That is a fact, I know from first hand experience, it is powerful stuff.
ping...
A somewhat standard schpiel I’ve posted before is to note that the average kitchen cupboard and spice rack is a veritable cornucopia of antimicrobials and anti-inflammatories. Understanding this as well as the proper use of them for these purposes would be very useful knowledge for just about anyone. Garlic, oregano, vinegar, salt, pepper, honey, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, clove, curry ... It’s no accident.
Just about everything in Italian vinegar and oil salad dressing kills bacteria, as well it should since it goes on raw vegetables for consumption. Salt cures meats for the same reason, as does sugar. Pickling is preservative as well, vinegar. There are medicinal uses for all of these.
In the face of an outbreak of antibiotic resistant bacteria, you’ll need all the help you can get. If new antibiotics to overcome resistance are not neing introduced, it’s just a matter of time. MRSA already has flareups in public places, from hospitals to high school gym locker rooms to health clubs.
pong
That's most likely the real reason. I only know corporate finance at the kibitzer's level, but I do know that no company will turn down the chance at a billion-dollar revenue stream if the internal rate of return is significantly higher than the cost of the capital needed to finance it. The mega drug companies didn't grow into behemoths by sticking to only super-profitable drugs.
Back around 1990, I was discussing AIDS cures with a good friend of mine. Back then, he was in pre-med, and I was in undergrad too. I suggested lifting safety protocols for experimental AIDS drugs because the people afflicted with AIDS were going to die early anyway. He didn't buy it; for him, it was out of the question even though common sense was on my side.
I'm pretty sure it's his attitude that dominates the FDA, not mine.
Using low dose antibiotics on farm animals for the purpose of weight gain is the primary cause of our problems with ineffective antibiotics.
I have no problem with administering antibiotics to animals that have an abcess or other infection; it’s using antibiotics for non-medical uses that has to stop.
Socialized medicine is not the answer but the drug industry’s behaviors are pushing more people in that direction. When our nation’s health and survival is treated like an accountant’s spreadsheet we are the big losers.
Commiecare will chose who will live or die in a government supported epidemic, thank you............ next question?
LOL...sorry! I should have put the sarcasm tag there. I thought you would get that.
ping
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