Drug industry is not tackling threats to public health, says WHO
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《英国医生杂志》
Profit driven drug companies are not developing enough drugs and vaccines to address two major threats to public health—influenza and resistance to antibacterial drugs—that could kill millions of people across the globe, the World Health Organization says in a new report.
In the report the Geneva based agency calls for urgent action to address these two and 15 other diseases and conditions for which it says treatments do not exist, are inadequate, or are not reaching patients.
The report, which was commissioned by the Dutch government as current president of the European Union, attempts to provide a complete overview of the gap in pharmaceuticals across the world to set an agenda for future development of drugs on the basis of public health needs.
"At present, pharmaceutical research and development are based on a market-driven incentive system relying primarily on patents and protected pricing as a prime financing mechanism," the report says. "As a result, a number of health needs are left unaddressed."
David Laing, of WHO抯 Essential Medicines and Policy Department and one of the authors, said the report showed that more research was needed to develop heat resistant drugs for people living in areas with little or no refrigeration in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Heat resistant versions of insulin and oxytocin (for postpartum bleeding) would be particularly useful. New, fixed dose combination drugs are also needed, particularly for HIV and AIDS, it says.
The report calls for more basic and applied research into cancer and acute stroke, new treatment for neglected diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, and the development of biomarkers for Alzheimer抯 disease and osteoarthritis.
Biomarkers are used in pharmaceutical development to help select candidate drugs with the best potential before substantial resources are invested in putting them through lengthy and expensive trials. Biomarkers are also considered useful for measuring the effect of drugs as early as in phase I and phase II clinical trials.
The industry gave the report a cautious welcome, saying that it had been compiled "in constructive dialogue" with governments and drug companies.
Dr Harvey Bale, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, said the onus was not only on drug companies but also health authorities to make sure that new drugs are prescribed and used.
"Ensuring uptake of new drugs is as important as setting appropriate pro-innovation policies. This requires looking at new pharmaceuticals as an investment and not just a cost," Dr Bale said.(Geneva Fiona Fleck)
In the report the Geneva based agency calls for urgent action to address these two and 15 other diseases and conditions for which it says treatments do not exist, are inadequate, or are not reaching patients.
The report, which was commissioned by the Dutch government as current president of the European Union, attempts to provide a complete overview of the gap in pharmaceuticals across the world to set an agenda for future development of drugs on the basis of public health needs.
"At present, pharmaceutical research and development are based on a market-driven incentive system relying primarily on patents and protected pricing as a prime financing mechanism," the report says. "As a result, a number of health needs are left unaddressed."
David Laing, of WHO抯 Essential Medicines and Policy Department and one of the authors, said the report showed that more research was needed to develop heat resistant drugs for people living in areas with little or no refrigeration in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Heat resistant versions of insulin and oxytocin (for postpartum bleeding) would be particularly useful. New, fixed dose combination drugs are also needed, particularly for HIV and AIDS, it says.
The report calls for more basic and applied research into cancer and acute stroke, new treatment for neglected diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, and the development of biomarkers for Alzheimer抯 disease and osteoarthritis.
Biomarkers are used in pharmaceutical development to help select candidate drugs with the best potential before substantial resources are invested in putting them through lengthy and expensive trials. Biomarkers are also considered useful for measuring the effect of drugs as early as in phase I and phase II clinical trials.
The industry gave the report a cautious welcome, saying that it had been compiled "in constructive dialogue" with governments and drug companies.
Dr Harvey Bale, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, said the onus was not only on drug companies but also health authorities to make sure that new drugs are prescribed and used.
"Ensuring uptake of new drugs is as important as setting appropriate pro-innovation policies. This requires looking at new pharmaceuticals as an investment and not just a cost," Dr Bale said.(Geneva Fiona Fleck)