Published 12 September 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1660
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1660

News

New antibiotics are needed as resistance grows, expert says

Philip Wilson

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Drug regulators should ensure that unnecessary hurdles don’t prevent the licensing of new antibiotics, a leading expert in treating resistant infections has said. David Livermore, director of the UK Health Protection Agency’s antimicrobial resistance monitoring unit, also called on drug companies not to abandon research into an area sometimes seen as unprofitable.

"Antibiotics are a precious resource in fighting infections, and one that we must do everything we can to preserve," he said at a press conference on 10 September. "That is why we need to ensure there is a constant range of options under development."

Public concern over resistance to antibiotics has centred on meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but the outlook in this area is positive. The incidence of MRSA bacteraemias has fallen in the United Kingdom, and there is no shortage of treatment options. Four antibiotics are licensed for use against MRSA, five more are filed for . . . [Full text of this article]


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Rapid Responses:

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