Investment needed
September 6, 2010
MEDICINES Australia is calling
on world governments to work with
pharmaceutical companies to
create “the right policy environment
for research into urgently-needed
new antibiotics”.
The call follows the World Health
Organisation’s new warning
regarding the potential global
spread of a new multi-drug
resistant bacteria, as well as new
research published in the Lancet
which cited evidence of a new gene
making several strands of bacteria
resistant to almost all bacteria.
“Governments must start giving
serious thought to how they can
work with pharmaceutical
companies to encourage
investment in new antibiotics in
response to the growing threat of
superbugs,” said Medicines
Australia ceo Dr Brendan Shaw.
Shaw suggested Incentives for
commercialising promising technologies
as one option to encourage
investment, adding that “extending
patent terms, R&D tax credits and
commercialisation funds” may also
help to provide financial incentives
to commercialise antibiotics.
“Governments should also look
carefully at how they assess the
prices they are prepared to pay for
new antibiotics,” he said.
“Comparing new medicines
against cheap, old generics can
lead to industry avoiding further
investment in a therapeutic area
such as antibiotics and investing
instead in other areas where the
return is greater.
“In cancer, governments have
been prepared to pay for new
treatments as they are developed.
The result is that today the industry
has over 800 new cancer medicines
in development compared with 83
antibiotics,” Shaw added.
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