Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 6/26/19


Incentives for companies that develop antibiotics for food animals are being pressured by such factors as high development costs, changing markets and shifting consumer trends, according to a USDA research economist.

With sales of antibiotics for in both US. and European markets slipping, incentives for companies that manufacture new branded and generic products also are diminishing, according to Stacy Sneeringer of USDA’s Economic Research Service.

Pharma companies must consider research-and-development costs that could run for 10 years from idea to market while contending with regulations baring use of medically important antibiotics (those used to treat humans). They also must respond appropriately to growing consumer demand for food from animals that have never been treated with antibiotics, Sneeringer outlined in a webinar.

Annual sales of antibiotics for humans ($1 trillion) dwarf those for animal antibiotics ($24 billion), but it is becoming more expensive to develop alternatives, even in cases where earlier antibiotics are reformulated, she added.

Not using antibiotics at all could result in slower animal growth rates, a higher cull rate and could be affected by potential ineffectiveness, although FDA regulations in place barring growth hormone drugs since 2017 also have had an impact on sales. Medically important antibiotics sales fell by 43% between 2015 and 2017, Sneeringer noted.

She added that government regulators eventually want to see non-medically important antibiotics developed for animals to treat bacterial infections once they appear.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.