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NIH superbug outbreak highlights lack of new antibiotics
Washington Post ^ | August 24 | Brian Vastag

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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: antibiotics; fda; infections
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What's buggin' you?
1 posted on 08/25/2012 10:31:58 PM PDT by null and void
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To: null and void

anti pharma strikes again. It will get worse under O care


2 posted on 08/25/2012 10:37:00 PM PDT by Nifster
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To: null and void

I got a great idea. Let’s stick it to the evil Big-Pharma. Bleed the greedy bastards dry.


3 posted on 08/25/2012 10:39:32 PM PDT by rlmorel ("Rub some bacon on it.")
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To: rlmorel

Back to DU with you, Barack...


4 posted on 08/25/2012 10:42:20 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1314 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Obama, a queer and present danger)
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To: null and void

Oil of Oregano kicks anything’s ass.


5 posted on 08/25/2012 10:53:35 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

And, colloidal silver.


6 posted on 08/25/2012 10:57:30 PM PDT by Slyfox
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To: Nifster

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.


7 posted on 08/25/2012 11:02:11 PM PDT by Pining_4_TX ( The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else. ~)
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To: null and void

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?


8 posted on 08/25/2012 11:13:45 PM PDT by TChad
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To: FReepers; Patriots



REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!

REMEMBER FREE REPUBLIC NOW.

LESS THAN $260 TO GO!

9 posted on 08/25/2012 11:19:01 PM PDT by onyx (FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
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To: TChad

*snrk* perfect!


10 posted on 08/25/2012 11:28:48 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1314 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Obama, a queer and present danger)
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To: Secret Agent Man

“Oil of Oregano kicks anything’s ass.”

That is a fact, I know from first hand experience, it is powerful stuff.


11 posted on 08/26/2012 12:48:18 AM PDT by PoloSec ( Believe the Gospel: how that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again)
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To: 2ndreconmarine; Fitzcarraldo; Covenantor; Mother Abigail; EBH; Dog Gone; ...

ping...


12 posted on 08/26/2012 12:50:25 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: null and void

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.


13 posted on 08/26/2012 1:11:01 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: IncPen

pong


14 posted on 08/26/2012 1:30:58 AM PDT by Nailbiter
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To: null and void
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.

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.

15 posted on 08/26/2012 3:33:19 AM PDT by danielmryan
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To: null and void

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.


16 posted on 08/26/2012 4:04:22 AM PDT by BuffaloJack (Boot the socialist out of the White House.)
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To: null and void

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.


17 posted on 08/26/2012 4:04:32 AM PDT by sakic
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To: null and void

Commiecare will chose who will live or die in a government supported epidemic, thank you............ next question?


18 posted on 08/26/2012 5:25:33 AM PDT by ronnie raygun (bb)
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To: null and void

LOL...sorry! I should have put the sarcasm tag there. I thought you would get that.


19 posted on 08/26/2012 6:01:49 AM PDT by rlmorel ("Rub some bacon on it.")
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To: null and void; neverdem; editor-surveyor; pandoraou812; TigersEye; little jeremiah

ping


20 posted on 08/26/2012 6:29:13 AM PDT by metmom (For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore & do not submit again to a yoke of slavery)
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