The government restricted the exemption to antibacterials

Announcement of the revised bill for exemption from economic evaluation

Blind spots such as antiviral drugs still remain,

The government restricted the exemption from economic evaluation to only antibacterial agents.

 

There is great backlash.

 

The HIRA confirmed the amendment to the regulations regarding evaluation standards and procedures, such as whether or not drugs are eligible for medical care benefits, by publicizing internal regulations on the 8th.

 

The revised bill was announced, narrowing the scope of exemption from economic evaluation from 'antibiotics' to 'antibacterials'.

 

Initially, the plan to expand the exemption from economic evaluation related to antibiotics was supported by both industry and academia.

 

However, there was controversy in terms of 'the definition of antibiotics'.

 

The medical concept of antibiotics refers to 'antimicrobial medicines' that encompass antibacterial agents (treatment of bacterial infections), antifungal agents (treatment of fungal infections), and antiviral agents (treatment of viral infections).

 

The continued increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most important public health agendas worldwide.

 

The issue is that the concept of antibiotics is generally confined to 'antibacterial agents'.

 

In fact, the government clarified the definition of antibiotics as the government announced its intention to apply limited inquiries to the related inquiries of the Korean Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association (KRPIA).

 

◆Antibiotic Resistance Problems and the International Community's Approach=The WHO defines the concept of AMR as 'a threat to effective prevention and treatment of continuously increasing infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi'.

 

AMR is not limited to the well-known superbacterial outbreak.

 

Antibiotic resistance, also called ``superbugs,'' is a change that occurs when microorganisms (fungi, viruses, parasites, etc.) that cause infection, including bacteria, are exposed to antibiotics and antibacterial drugs such as antifungal and antiviral drugs.

 

AMR is a public health agenda that should be approached, including the risk of resistance to fungi such as Candida and Aspergillus, as well as so-called 'super bacteria' such as Carbapenem-resistant bacteria and Vancomycin-resistant bacteria.

 

The revelation of AMR makes it difficult to treat infections, increases the risk of spread of infectious diseases, occurrence of severe infectious diseases, and death.

 

As a result, the effectiveness of the drug decreases, and the risk of continued infection in the body increases the risk of transmission to others.

 

Worrying about the mutation of COVID-19 even before the development of COVID-19 vaccine is in the same as worrying about the emergence of resistant bacteria that are currently being developed or the treatment does not work.

 

In fact, in the early days of the 'Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS)', which was started to implement the Global Action Plan for AMR in 2016, the focus was on human bacterial (bacteria) infection, but in 2018 Since then, efforts have been made to narrow the information gap in other types of AMR, such as the development of a global surveillance frame for AMR of invasive fungal infections.

 

◆ Increased risk of secondary infection in COVID-19 confirmed patients = Cases and results of secondary infections caused by these fungi are being published in patients with COVID-19.

 

It is known that the risk of secondary infection in the hospital increases when long-term hospitalization or long-term use of a ventilator, such as a severe COVID-19 patient.

 

There is a need to secure sufficient infectious disease drugs in preparation for new infectious diseases and secondary infections in hospitals.

 

Analysis of the results of a retrospective multicenter cohort study of 191 COVID-19 patients at two hospitals in Wuhan, China, found that 15% of all patients (28/191) and about 50% (27/54) of deaths were secondary infections.

 

According to a study analyzing the prevalence of invasive aspergillosis in COVID-19 patients, about 5% of COVID-19 patients were in critical condition requiring intensive treatment, and these severely ill patients have been shown to have an increased risk of secondary infection with Invasive Aspergillosis.

 

Jeong-Hyun Choi, Chairman of the Korean Society for Antimicrobial Therapy (Department of Infection and Internal Medicine, Eunpyeong St.

 

Mary's Hospital, Catholic University) said, "If patients are hospitalized for a long time or use a ventilator for a long time, such as a severely ill patient with COVID-19, the risk of secondary infection in the hospital increases.

 

In contrast to the opinion of the Society, it is very unfortunate that the concept of antibiotics has been arbitrarily reduced, contrary to the opinion of the Society, while the necessity of securing sufficient drugs for infectious diseases in preparation for new infectious diseases and secondary infections in hospitals is being raised.

 

In addition, he expected that the 'Antibiotic Resistance Management Division' within the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency would be established to enable active management of antibiotic resistance.

 

However, the problem of accessibility is on the contrary.

 

I hope that the government will listen to the voices of the infection control site so that it is not limited to only antibacterials.”