Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drugmakers Have 'Tremendous Potential' In War Against Superbugs, But They're Not Doing Enough
Stat: Pharma Is Urged To Do More To Thwart The Superbug Crisis
As public health officials continue to lament a dearth of antibiotics, a new report finds some drug makers are making strides in developing medicines to combat superbugs, but that the pharmaceutical industry, in general, needs to do more. Overall, more companies are addressing R&D priorities, particularly the development of new antimicrobial drugs, but remain less active in bolstering manufacturing or sufficiently widening access, according to the report from the Access to Medicines Foundation, a non-profit based in the Netherlands, that regularly compiles indices to rank the progress made by drug companies on various matters. (Silverman, 1/23)
The New York Times: New Index Rates Drug Companies In Fight Against ‘Superbugs’
GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson are the best of the big pharmaceutical companies at tackling the growing “superbug” threat, according to an index released Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The index, which rates companies on their contributions to preventing the spread of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, found Mylan to be the best of the generic drug makers and rated a little-known company, Entasis, as top among biotechnology companies. (McNeil, 1/23)
