Antibiotics

Reversing antibiotic resistance: Experts reveal what can still work

Resistance can decline and older drugs can regain usefulness, but only if hospitals, communities and policymakers commit to long-term behavioural change and evidence-based interventions

Can coffee interfere with antibiotics? New study reveals a possible link

German scientists have discovered that caffeine can interfere with antibiotics like amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin in bacteria, raising questions about how diet may influence drug effectiveness

WHO updates recommendations on use of antibiotics for Covid-19 patients

The WHO has recommended against the use of antibiotics even in patients with severe Covid when a concurrent bacterial infection is not suspected. The global health body has released updated recommendations for the clinical management of people with Covid which, it said, are based on evidence generated from recent meta-analysis of outcomes of patients treated with antibiotics for Covid. "For patients with non-severe COVID-19 and a low clinical suspicion of a concurrent bacterial infection, we recommend no empirical antibiotics. For patients with severe COVID-19 and a low clinical suspicion of a concurrent bacterial infection, we suggest no empirical antibiotics," the WHO said. The WHO said that as COVID-19 epidemiology and severity have changed, and as emergency measures have subsided, the evidence behind a number of recommendations has changed. In parallel, evolution of health systems and the global environment have meant that the recommendations are implemented in a very different

Pharma manufacturing tends to cause AMR in communities: Nick Voulvoulis

Changes are required both in manufacturing practices as well as in regulatory oversight, says Voulvoulis

Wockhardt's novel antibiotic Zaynich eyes $9 billion global market

Company to launch Zaynich in India this fiscal; sees $7 bn market in US and EU and ₹17,000 crore in India; USFDA, EU filings underway for FY26

Human antibiotic use polluting rivers, fuelling drug resistance: Study

Researchers calculated that about 8,500 tons of antibiotics -- nearly one-third of what people consume annually -- end up in river systems

Study estimates 80% length of rivers posing risks from antibiotic pollution

Eighty per cent of total length of India's rivers could be posing environmental and health risks due to antibiotic pollution, a study has estimated. Along with India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Pakistan are among the countries facing similar risks due to pollution from antibiotics, the research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Nexus, said. Researchers from McGill University, Canada, explained that antibiotics -- they help fight bacterial diseases -- are not completely metabolised while passing through the body, nor completely destroyed or removed by most wastewater treatment facilities. Potentially 315 million people in India could be exposed to environmental risks arising from rivers contaminated with antibiotics, according to the study, which measured amounts of 21 antibiotics at 877 locations globally. Findings highlight the need for appropriate wastewater management plans and improving current practices, the team said. Regulations a

Centre bans import, sale of 2 antibiotic classes for use in animal rearing

Health ministry bans use of all formulations containing chloramphenicol and nitrofurans in any food-producing animal rearing system over concerns of misuse

Centre unveils standard treatment guidelines for livestock, poultry

They discourage excessive use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock

US FDA grants fast track status to Wockhardt's novel antibiotic WCK 6777

WCK 6777 is a once-a-day, β-lactam enhancer used for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy

Antibiotic resistance to claim over 39 mn lives in next 25 years: Lancet

Over a million people around the world died annually due to antibiotic resistance between 1990 and 2021, and more than 39 million could die from antibiotic-resistant infections over the next 25 years, according to a global analysis, published in The Lancet journal. Future deaths from antibiotic resistance are estimated to be highest in South Asia -- including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh -- where a total of 11.8 million deaths directly due to it are forecast between 2025 and 2050, a collaboration of researchers forming the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project said. Antibiotic, or antimicrobial, resistance is when drugs designed to kill infectious bacteria and fungi are rendered ineffective because the bugs have evolved and developed an ability to defeat these drugs. The researchers said deaths due to antibiotic resistance will also be high in other parts of southern and eastern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Further, trends between 1990 and 2021 suggested that

Antibiotic production waste fuelling drug-resistant bacteria, warns WHO

In a first, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued norms on managing waste during antibiotic production

Abbott India recalls Pentids antibiotic batches over packaging issues

Pentids are widely prescribed for treating bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, throat, lungs, nose, skin, and sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis

New research shows how viruses work where antibiotics fail against bacteria

Viruses called bacteriophages, or phages, target bacteria but can't infect humans or other higher organisms

India's medicine exports to US, Italy on the rise: Commerce ministry

With the government focusing on boosting domestic manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, India's medicine and antibiotics exports have started gaining significant market share in the US. According to the commerce ministry data, India is the third largest import source of 'medicine put up for retail sale' for the US. The top two are Ireland and Switzerland. In 2023, the country exported these medicines worth USD 9 billion as against 7.33 billion in 2022. With this increase in the shipments, India's share went up to 13.1 per cent in 2023 from 10.08 per cent in 2022. Share of the top exporter Ireland fell to 13.85 per cent in 2023 from 17.18 per cent in 2022 because its sales in the US went down to USD 9.5 billion in 2023 from USD 12.5 billion in 2022. The second biggest exporter Switzerland also saw its share decline to 13.7 per cent last year from 17.4 per cent in 2022. Similarly, India has increased its share among exporters of antibiotics in the Italian market. It is ranked 10

Mumbai-based Wockhardt to launch its novel antibiotic Zaynich by FY25-end

Global launch in FY26 after multinational clinical trial ends

Nepal's drug regulator bans sale of Indian antibiotic over quality issues

Zydus Lifesciences said the reports were 'misleading and erroneous'

Nepal bars sale of Indian antibiotic injection Biotax 1gm over health risk

Nepal's Department of Drug Administration said laboratory tests on batch F300460 of 'Biotax 1gm', manufactured by Zydus Healthcare Ltd, indicated non-compliance with production standards

Lupin recalls 51k bottles of generic drug due to defective containers in US

Drug firm Lupin is recalling over 51,000 bottles of a generic antibiotic medication in the US market due to a "defective container", according to the American health regulator. The US-based arm of the drug maker is recalling 51,006 bottles of Cefdinir for Oral Suspension (250 mg/5 mL) due to "defective container: lack of seal integrity," US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) said in its latest Enforcement Report. Cefrine Oral Suspension is indicated for the treatment of a range of bacterial infections. The affected lot has been manufactured at Lupin's Mandideep-based plant and marketed in the US by Baltimore-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc, it said. The drug maker initiated the Class II nationwide (US) voluntary recall on May 8 this year. As per the USFDA, a Class II recall is initiated in a situation in which the use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health

Experts flag need to stop OTC sale of antibiotics, spread awareness

The study adds that an estimated 7.7 million die in LMICs due to bacterial infections, of which almost five million deaths are due to AMR bacteria