Save our Antibiotics

I was a bit shocked by a news item on BBC news this morning.

Some chap from a pharmaceutical company said that there has been no new research into new antibiotics for around 25 years so we have been relying on this in existence, or variations of them, since that date.

He stated that antibiotics are not used daily by people which makes them expensive to research and produce - unlike blood pressure tablets which are taken daily and provide good profit for the shareholders. He also stated this his company is doing current research.

In this article, the following paragraph highlights this:

"Ultimately, WHO's report should be a wake-up call to governments to introduce incentives for industry to develop new, affordable antibiotics that do not rely on patents and high prices and are adapted to the needs of developing countries."

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/30/who-calls-urgent-action-antibiotics-antimicrobial-resistance

The UK Government, in 2012, gave £1bn for various research projects (a fair chunk included healthcare) - maybe it would be better that the research remains as government property and government produces the drugs instead of leaving it to a profit driven motive.

Bum - I voted for something else! So they had better succeed.

The Longitude prize has been awarded for research into antibiotics. Let's hope something good comes from the £10 million.