Drugmakers pledge to
clean up antibiotic factories, curb overuse
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[September 20, 2016]
(Reuters) - Thirteen leading
drugmakers promised on Tuesday to clean up pollution from factories
making antibiotics and take steps to curb overuse of the medicines as
part of a drive to fight the rise of drug-resistant superbugs.
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The industry announcement coincides with a high-level meeting on
antimicrobial resistance as part of the United Nations General
Assembly in New York.
Companies that have signed up to the scheme include leaders in both
branded and generic drug production, including Pfizer, Merck,
Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Allergan, as well as Indian drugmakers
Cipla and Wockhardt.
The group will work with independent experts to set new factory
standards and review supply chains to ensure antibiotic waste does
not enter waterways, where it can lead to the breeding of superbugs.
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Efforts to prevent overuse of antibiotics will involve a review of
promotional activities and the implementation, by 2020, of concrete
measures such as the removal of incentives to sell the drugs in
larger volumes.
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Though the problem of drug-resistant bacteria has been a feature of
medicine since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, it has grown in
recent years with the emergence of infections resistant to multiple
drugs, such as MRSA.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Goodman)
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