THE QUESTION OF ECONOMICS
AND DIETS
The main problem is simply due to the
mechanics of free market economics.
The pharmaceutical industry pours in
an incredible amount of money and
time into the research and development
of a new drug. The Infectious Diseases
Society of America postulates that
any R&D medical programme would
likely “require 10 or more years and an
investment of US$800 million to US$1.7
billion” before it brings a new drug into
the market.
However, with today’s antibiotics losing
its effectiveness at such a rapid rate,
the profits, if any at all, that can be
gained from creating new antibiotics
are simply not enticing enough for the
pharmaceutical giants. To lay the blame
squarely on profit-driven companies,
however, would be short-sighted since
these organisations need to use the
profits generated from the sale of
drugs to fund future research.
Another area that the world needs
to look at is the massive amount of
antibiotics used in, of all places, the
fields of farming and agriculture. In
the US, 80 percent of antibiotics sold,
by weight, are used in agriculture,
“primarily to fatten animals and protect
them from the conditions in which they
are raised”.
DRUG INVEST
---------------- MENT
-------
US$800
MILLION
Q<