Show me the money

The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics recently released its 2010 report on the use of medications in the US (you can view it here). In the list of the top 25 prescribed drugs based on revenue generated, there is only one anti-infective, Atripla, which ranks #23. And you wonder why there are so few new antibiotics in development?

WHO update: no antibiotics and new H5N1 death

There is an article in the February 2011 Bulletin of the World Health Organization that outlines the reasons behind the shrinking antibiotic pipeline even in the setting of emerging antimicrobial resistant pathogens.  The range of reasons offered goes from the biological (the low hanging fruit has been picked) to the economic (why invest in meds that will only be taken for 7 days).  The article does offer hope in both cases by describing recent discoveries and offering potential incentive arrangements that could encourage antibiotic development and proper use.

Bulletin of the WHO (February 2011)  html or pdf

Note: World Health Day on April 7th is devoted to raising awareness around the issue of antimicrobial resistance. Although, when you read the description of World Health Day, it only talks about HIV, TB and malaria.  I wonder what it will take for the ID folk to mention a bacteria?

Finally, the WHO has announced a confirmed H5N1 related death in a 5-year old Cambodian girl. This is the first reported mortality due to avain flu since early 2010. The girl had been exposed to sick poultry during the 7-days prior to disease onset. The influenza clock keeps ticking.

Needed: Some new antibiotics

The New York Times, 11/6/10

This morning's New York Times has an article by Andrew Pollack on the problem of the pharmaceutical industry's lack of interest in developing new antibiotics. From an economic perspective, it's hard to entice companies to develop drugs that a patient might need for a few weeks, when other drugs may be required for years. Yet the problem of multidrug-resistance, particularly for gram-negative organisms, continues to accelerate. Pollack points out the lack of consumer advocacy on this issue, noting that advocacy has focused on reducing transmission of infections in hospitals, rather than the development of new therapeutics.

Happy Weekend: How 'bout getting off these antibiotics

Yes.  I know most will mock me for posting an Alanis video; but hey, how many people can get a whole crowd to shout about getting off antibiotics, in Japan no less.  Some of my old co-fellows will get the humor behind this too...come on eileen...thank u

Another reason to like frogs

As if us toads needed another reason to like frogs, there is a new report out of the American Chemical Society meeting that suggests frog skin may be an excellent source for new antimicrobials including ones active against MRSA and acinetobacter. More than 100 potential compounds have been identified.  Now if we could just convince frog to let us sleep in more. That bit where he rips the calendar pages off until he gets to May is not that cool...

Article from BBC News

Scientists create new bacteria out of nothing

Just reported in the journal Science, Craig Venter's group has created Mycoplasma mycoides out of nothing. Now if they could just create a new antibiotic!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/21cell.html