The Future Problems and Opportunities

In the last decade, the increased availability of drugs through the Internet has led to a number of new problems. Many drugs can be supplied across borders that would not be permitted in the patient s home country, and appropriate clinical advice and monitoring is frequently inadequate. Moreover, quality control of such materials is limited the most famous example is the extensive counterfeiting of Pfizer s Viagra , a treatment for erectile dysfunction. 

Two areas are of particular concern. The first is new antibiotics for the treatment of resistant superbugs. MRSA and VRE are infectious agents generally acquired and transmitted in hospitals, but strains of E. coli, typhoid, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and salmonella have also become resistant to most antibiotics. Between 1930 and 1968, there were 14 new classes of antibiotic developed. Since 1968, there have only been five new classes, and only two are in development. The development of resistance can probably be attributed to overprescription of antibiotics for minor ailments and overuse in hospitals, but it is now too late to correct this. The area is complex, and not very profitable, so many companies have turned their attention elsewhere. 

---