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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

The BBC [bbc.com] and The New York Times [nytimes.com] report that pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostics companies are demanding more money and/or new economic models to incentivize the development of new antibiotics:

In a declaration that is being released on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the companies say that governments must work with companies to fight the problem of antimicrobial resistance, in which many germs are no longer killed by common antibiotics and in some cases even by last-ditch options, turning once-treatable infections into life-threatening events. The signers of the declaration include such big pharmaceutical companies as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Pfizer as well as some smaller biotech companies and some generic manufacturers in India.

[...] "We support the increasing recognition that the value assigned to antibiotics and diagnostics often does not reflect the benefits they bring to society, nor the investment required for their creation," the document says. It calls for "prompt reimbursement" at prices that reflect such value. But it also says that other "transformational commercial models" might be needed to spur development and also to cut down on unnecessary use of antibiotics, which contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance. One idea is to have governments or a global organization pay a drug company a big lump sum when an antibiotic is developed. That could reduce the need for pharmaceutical companies to promote their products to spur sales.

The Wall Street Journal adds [wsj.com]:

Jim O'Neill, the former Goldman Sachs economist who is running a review on antimicrobial resistance for the U.K. government, called the declaration a "major step forward" in establishing a global response to the threat of drug resistance. "I'm really impressed that such a wide range of companies have been able to agree on a common set of principles and commitments across these important issues," he said. "This is a level of consensus that we have not previously seen from the industry on this topic."

The group said it would review and update the declaration every two years "to reflect progress and changing priorities," and invited other companies to add their signatures to the declaration.

Declaration by the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Diagnostics Industries on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance [amr-review.org] (PDF)

Companion article linked by the BBC: Impact of antibiotic restrictions: the pharmaceutical perspective [sciencedirect.com] (DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2006.01528.x)

Original Submission