The Fda's Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract

Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control are very concerned about the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Both agencies advocate reducing the use of antibiotics in order to slow down or prevent this selection pressure for resistant bacteria. That is, the agencies advocate reduction in demand in order to slow the resistance process. On the face of it, a demand-side policy is not the obvious solution. For one thing, it is fighting to the enemy's strength: We are trying to slow down a rapid evolutionary process, but evolution is bacteria's strong suit. Second, we are smarter than the bugs, especially with the emergence of gene sequencing and other tools of modern biology that will yield new and more powerful antibiotics. Those factors suggest that we should be concentrating more on the supply side of the issue - trying to invent and market new antibiotics instead of simply trying to slow down the use of those already available.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, regulation, health, medicine, pharmaceutical markets, drug development, federal drug administration, FDA

JEL Classification: L51, L65, O38, O32