Political Fiddling With Wildfires Burning And MRSA Killing
Read more articles on Science and Technology and Life and Drugs.November 26, 2007
Posted by neillevine
November 26, 2007
Posted by neillevine
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The federal government is responsible for making policy in many areas from health care to the use of natural resources to fighting forest fires.
The media, meaning newspapers, have been pointing out the dangers of MRSA, that is, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus with eighty thousand new cases a year and twenty thousand deaths.
Then there was a story about clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes severe diarrhea and even death. The point is that there is a need for new and more effective antibiotics. Unfortunately, drug companies have been slow to discover new drugs in this category. Research is expensive and drug trials take up a great deal of time.
So proposals have been made by experienced and respected former government officials that in order to encourage the development of new anti-bacterial drugs they be given orphan drug status, a medical label designed to encourage research and development by protecting the investment made and expediting the legal use of new medicines on patients in need of treatment. The companies involved get monopolistic protections and skip steps in the demanding drug testing required by the FDA.
Since side effects of many medicines are often difficult to deal with and potentially very dangerous, with many problems arising unexpectedly and sometimes being overlooked due to the small number of people affected the one insightful thing I can add to this debate is that if favors are granted to encourage new drugs perhaps stricter and more detailed information on the impact of these medicines be required to offset the lower threshold of medical detail required, that is, fewer Phase I, II and III volunteers and tests.
When I was looking into drug research the medicines that stood out were Tamiflu and Relenza. I remember reading in the criticism of these drugs that a thirty percent reduction in symptoms was not much and that better drugs were on the way. Well, several years later both of these medicines are considered to be successes and nothing much in the way of alternatives is currently available, although stricter warnings were just added to the labeling because of serious side effects reported in Japan. Such are real world medical results for unpredictable medical research.
Also, I would hope more could be done about bacterial pneumonia, which is also a big killer.
Perhaps more thinking could be focused on wildfires, with another dangerous outbreak in Malibu, California making the news. Let me ask if cloud seeding as in artificial rain making be practical and helpful.
Finally, I believe the recent run up to ninety-eight dollars for a barrel of crude oil would underscore ineffectiveness of federal energy policy. Hassling auto makers with greater fuel efficiency requirements diverts resources and still does not address the real problem. Shell games impress political devotees but do not accomplish anything. Why not solve the energy shortage NOW? Shell games waste money and accomplish little. .
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