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The Fda (FDA) has issued guidelines calling on international pharmaceutical companies to phase the manufacture of antibiotics designed for use within animal production facilities. These medicine is often added to chicken or cow feed not to cure a sick animal, but to assist them to put on weight faster C a side-effect of the medications.
In a statement, the FDA cited the growing concern of antibiotic resistant bacteria as the major reason behind the decision.
“We need to be selective concerning the drugs we use in animals and when we rely on them,” said William Flynn, the deputy director for science policy at FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). “Antimicrobial resistance may not be completely preventable, but we have to do what we should can to slow down.”
In the guideline released on Wednesday, the government agency asked drug and animal health companies to voluntarily remove references to usability in animal production from medically-important antibiotics. According to the FDA, when the change is made C these products in question are only able to be utilized in food-producing animals to treat, avoid or control disease underneath the order of a licensed veterinarian.
“This action promotes the judicious utilization of important antimicrobials, which protects public health and, simultaneously, helps to ensure that sick and at-risk animals receive the therapy they need,” said Bernadette Dunham, a director at CVM. “We understand that these steps represent changes for veterinarians and animal producers, and we have been working to make this transition as seamless as you possibly can.”
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY, called the FDA’s recommendation on antibiotics inadequate, “with no mechanism for enforcement and no metric for achievement.”
Steven Roach, senior analyst with advocacy group Keep Antibiotics Working, agreed.
“Our fear … is that there won’t be any reduction in antibiotic use as companies will either disregard the plan altogether or just switch by using antibiotics for routine growth promotion to using exactly the same antibiotics for routine disease prevention,” he told Reuters.
According to Reuters, the FDA has already received support from drugmakers Zoetis and Elanco, both of which sell a lot of these products being targeted through the guidelines. Elanco released an argument saying it might voluntarily restrict the use of antibiotics accustomed to treat both humans and animals “simply to therapeutic purpose of treating, controlling and preventing diseases in animals under the supervision of the veterinarian.”
The first steps toward the brand new recommendations arrived 2010 when the FDA drafted an offer that called for the phasing out the utilization of medically important antibiotics in food production. The brand new guidelines construct a method for achieving that stated goal and mark the start of the formal implementation period.
As part of the new guidelines, the company is asking animal drug companies to notify the FDA over the following three months of the intent to comply with the voluntary regulations. Companies would then have three years to totally implement these changes.
“According to our outreach, we have every reason to believe that animal pharmaceutical companies will support us in this effort,” said Michael R. Taylor, FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
