Vol.68 No.4 July 2020
Toward a stable supply of antibacterial agents
Nakahama Clinic, 2-15-3 Nakamiya, Asahi-ku, Osaka, Japan
Abstract
Instability of the nationwide supply of antibacterial agents, primarily of cefazolin (CEZ) and penicillin, that first began in 2019 is now becoming critical, with 42% of mid- to large-scale hospitals (≥100 beds) running out of CEZ for judicious perioperative and therapeutic uses, while primary care clinics have exhausted their stocks of sulbactam/ampicillin (SBT/ABPC) as well as their stocks of tazobactam/piperacillin. The shortage of these drugs is multifactorial, but in part, arises from our dependence on Chinese supplies of crude penicillin. At the moment, early recovery of normal production volume is unlikely. The government, pharmaceutical companies and related academic societies must work together to address this fundamental failure in our supply system. In addition, I report the results of a survey of 105 clinicians that I conducted in February 2020 on the lack of antimicrobial supplies. In particular, 46% of the 59 hospitals were struggling with a lack of supply of antimicrobial drugs such as, mainly of CEZ and SBT/ABPC.
At the same time, the development of new antibacterial agents in Japan has significantly slowed down after it peaked in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, new drug development is impossible without long-term public financial support, creating a vicious cycle of antibiotic resistance that unfortunately seems to emerge far faster than new drugs. The supply instability of antibacterial agents, both existing and new, is a threat to our national health and security against infectious disease outbreaks. Prompt interventions are necessary to restore stable supplies of these essential antibacterial agents.
Key word
antibacterial agent, drug shortage, therapeutic drug development, surveillance
Received
December 9, 2019
Accepted
April 15, 2020
Jpn. J. Chemother. 68 (4): 510-517, 2020
