Cameron’s antibiotics plan not enough
pharmafile | July 8, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Antibiotics, BBC, NHS, UK, david cameron, governement
UK prime minister David Cameron’s reaction to antibiotic resistance is not urgent enough and doctors are continuing to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately, a new report cautions.
The parliamentary report follows the announcement last week that Cameron was launching a new review, led by economist Jim O’Neill, into why so few anti-microbial drugs have been introduced in recent years. The findings of which are not due until spring 2015.
In an inquiry the UK Science and Technology Committee examined over 70 submissions of written evidence and called for more ‘immediate action’ – warning that: “Announcing reviews [is] not the same as dealing with the problem”.
In a nine-month analysis of current prescribing practices of both doctors and vets, the MPs heard that too often doctors are prescribing antibiotics simply to placate patients, and that the drugs were being ‘routinely used on healthy animals’.
Professor Nigel Brown who is president of the Society for General Microbiology, told the BBC that there was a culture of “expectation from patients that some sort of prescription will be handed out” and that it needed to be tackled.
He warned against any knee-jerk reaction however, saying it is more important ‘to get the right solution’ rather than just choosing a quick one.
The Select Committee has recommended a number of strategies to improve the current use of antibiotics: including the better education of medical students, the development of faster, cheaper tests to accurately identify bacteria, and to monitor how well patients deal with their prescriptions.
They have also called for new and prompt discussions with pharma about alternative pricing arrangements for antibiotics. Since 2000 there have been just five newly-developed classes of antimicrobial drugs – as companies focus upon more lucrative medicines that can be used for longer periods.
The government has promised to respond to the report in due course.
Emily MacKenzie
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