Many of the world’s leading drug manufacturers may be leaking
antibiotics from their factories into the environment according to a new
report from a drug industry watchdog. This risks creating more
superbugs.
The report surveyed household-name pharmaceutical giants like GSK,
Novartis and Roche as well as generic companies which make non-branded
products for the NHS and other health systems.
None of the 18 companies polled would reveal how much antibiotic
discharge they release into the environment, according to the
independent report from the not-for-profit body, the Access to Medicine
Foundation. Only eight said they set limits for how much could be
released in wastewater.
Featured image: Pharmaceutical waste in Hyderabad, India by Christian Baars
