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Pharmaceuticals

Fighting Drug Resistance

by Britt E. Erickson
June 21, 2010 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 88, Issue 25

Drug-resistant diseases are on the rise globally, and action is needed now to ensure that lifesaving drugs continue to work, a report by the Center for Global Development (CGD) concludes. To combat the problem, the report recommends that the World Health Organization take the lead and establish a network of laboratories dedicated to tracking the emergence and spread of drug-resistant microorganisms. The report also calls on pharmaceutical companies to provide a secure supply chain and ensure that high-quality medicines reach patients, particularly those in developing countries where counterfeit and substandard drugs are prevalent. Worldwide drug safety laws and enforcement of those laws should also be strengthened. Lastly, the report calls for research-funding agencies to create a Web-based network for researchers to share data that can accelerate the discovery of new drugs and diagnostics. “We know what actions are needed to fix the problem,” Nancy Birdsall, president of CGD, said in a statement. “We just lack the incentives, institutions, and global leadership to get on with it.”

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