Antibiotics

Beyond Zaynich: Wockhardt bets on WCK 6777 as next blockbuster jab

Once-a-day injectable antibiotic aimed at treatment beyond hospitals through outpatient centres

Wockhardt targets 50% of revenue from novel drugs within five years

Wockhardt expects novel drugs to contribute over half its revenue within five years as it expands a differentiated antibiotic portfolio built through decades of R&D

A World of Resistance: What's driving India's antibiotic overdose crisis

The very drugs that transformed India's health, agriculture, and development now threaten to undermine all three

CDSCO flags banned antibiotics in shrimp exports amid rising rejections

Regulator seeks state-wise enforcement data as EU, US and Japan reject consignments linked to over 40 farms

Antibiotic resistance fuels 87% of India's typhoid economic burden: Study

Antibiotic-resistant typhoid infections accounted for at least 87 per cent of India's disease-related economic burden in 2023, according to a study in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia. The total economic burden due to typhoid fever was estimated at Rs 123 billion. Children under the age of 10 incurred the highest economic burden, contributing to over half of the costs, researchers, including those from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Christian Medical College in Vellore, found. They also estimated that households bore 91 per cent of expenses, and 70,000 families faced "catastrophic" health expenditure. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal were estimated to account for 51 per cent of the national costs. Typhoid fever is an infectious disease commonly transmitted through contaminated food or water. Symptoms can include high fever, fatigue, headache and stomach pain. The authors said the findings pr

Almost half of antibiotic prescribing for surgery is inappropriate: Report

The report shows while fewer antibiotics are prescribed in the community than a decade ago, there is still room to improve antibiotic prescribing in hospitals

Child pneumonia myths busted: Coughs, antibiotics & warning signs explained

Is pneumonia just a bad cold? Do all children need antibiotics or hospital care? In this episode of our fact-check series, a pulmonologist debunks common pneumonia myths

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