EU Parliament Members Seek To Curb Antibiotics In Animals, Boost New Research

In the fight against antimicrobial resistance, members of the European Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee have advocated banning collective and preventive antibiotic treatment of animals, and supported measures to stimulate research into new antibiotics, including longer data protection.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have been working on the update of a European Union law on veterinary medicine. According to a European Parliament press release, MEPs took a vote yesterday on draft plans for legislation on antimicrobial resistance.

MEPs recommended to create incentives to stimulate research and development of new antimicrobials. Those incentives could include longer periods of protection for technical documentation on new medicines, commercial protection of innovative active substances, and protection for significant investments in data generated to improve an existing antimicrobial product or keep it on the market.

According to the release, the objectives of the legislative proposals on antimicrobials are aimed in particular to increase the availability of veterinary medicinal products; stimulate competitiveness and innovation; and address the public health risk of antimicrobial resistance.

“The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) recently warned that bacteria in humans, food and animals continue to show resistance to the most widely-used antimicrobials,” said the release.

The vote follows a report by MEP Françoise Grossetête of France, which was approved by a vote of 60 to 2. The report is expected to be debated and put to a vote during the March/April plenary sessions in Strasbourg, according to the release.