Report questions PM's antibiotics review

Last week Prime Minister David Cameron commissioned an independent review to explore to issues surrounding antimicrobial resistance - as no new antibiotic drugs have been commercially introduced in over 25 years.

However, a Science and Technology Committee report published today suggests that more needs to be done to ensure better “success” against antimicrobial resistance.

The Committee also raised concerns about the inappropriate prescription of antibiotics.

“The best defence against the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance is a strong global pipeline of new drugs

“We recommend that, as a matter of public interest, the government drives the development of clinically proven alternative, safe and effective strategies to ease the demand placed on general practitioners by people with acute infections so that they can develop an appropriate response to these requests without creating further antimicrobial resistance,” the report says.

Acknowledging the Prime Minister’s announcement, the report agrees with the need for economic change as a means of stimulating drug development.

“We also agree that the government needs to work with researchers, investors, small and medium sized enterprises, large pharmaceutical companies and other governments to urgently identify appropriate economic models that might encourage the development of new antimicrobials,” says the report.

The Committee report says that the best defence against the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance is a “strong global pipeline of new drugs” as a means of avoiding a “severely limiting” medical scenario.

Likewise, the Prime Minister said: “If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again.”

An official response to today’s report is yet to be announced.