Health security

Fragile Antibiotic Supply Chain Causes Shortages And Is A National Security Threat

Antibiotics are not as profitable to drug companies, as they are only taken for short courses. Pharma prefers drugs for chronic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension, that need to be taken for years, or oncology drugs with their hefty profit margins. In fact, a number of companies have elected to stop developing and marketing antibiotics.  As of 2008, the only big pharmaceuticals with active antibacterial discovery programs were GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Merck, and Pfizer. Bristol-Myers-Squibb stopped in 2006. In 2011, Pfizer ended antibiotic research at its main center.

Several factors contribute to the looming crisis in antibiotic availability and are nicely discussed in a new white paper from the nonprofit Access to Medicine Foundation. A major problem is the shortage of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), often developed only in Asia.