The pharmaceutical companies have been urged to produce more antibiotics by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The federal legislation is being encouraged to provide drug companies with incentives to do so.
Combating the drug-resistant microbes should deserve the utmost priority owing to the health risks involved. No anti-biotics have so far been developed to treat such life-threatening infections. The pathogenic organisms against which effective drugs have to be developed include methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, E-coli, acinetobacter baumannii, klebsiella, vancomycin-resistant enterococcus faecium pseudomonas aeruginosa and aspergillus.Infections with the above-mentioned organisms pose a significant threat to the survival of the individual. Moreover, these infections are seen frequently in the medical set up that aggravates the need for development of novel treatment strategies.
There has been a steady decrease in the number of antimicrobials, approved by the FDA over the past 20 years. Major pharmaceutical companies have diverted their attention to other medical problems, leading to a large lacuna in this demanding field.
While acknowledging that drug development and marketing has to undergo several phases of rigorous testing that may take several months or even years, the organization has appealed to the Congress to pass a broad legislation that would enable provision of market-exclusive rights to drug companies that come out with startling discoveries.
Such companies can then be encouraged through provision of tax credits that would encourage research and development and drug manufacture.
