Pharma Pollution: Shut The Back Door On Superbugs

Thursday, August 25, 2016

EPHA and Changing Markets unveils how the pharmaceutical industry’s role in contributing to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) via pollution of the environment in a new briefing. The failure to produce drugs responsibly and ensure transparency and respect for environmental standards in global supply chains is contributing to the proliferation of drug-resistant infections.

The briefing “Drug Resistance through the Back Door: How the Pharmaceutical Industry is fuelling the Rise of Superbugs through Pollution in its Supply Chains,”  summarises key information about pollution in global pharmaceutical supply chains for health professionals and purchasers of medicines.

The briefing reiterates the findings previously been released in the ‘Bad Medicine’ report by SumOfUs in 2015 that investigated polluting antibiotics factories in China. This has been complemented by a focused on-the-ground investigation of polluting factories in India commissioned by the investment bank Nordea in early 2016.

The briefing calls major purchasers of medicines in EU countries, including the UK NHS, to blacklist pharmaceutical companies with manufacturing practices that contribute to the spread of AMR, and to implement procurement policies that include environmental criteria.

Source: Epha (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Environment, Health Care
Tags
infectious diseases