E-drug: Essential drugs etc. (cont'd)
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Dear Pierre,
The example of trachoma illustrates my point, because there is no
difference in efficacy between azithromycine and erythromycin, which
is on the WHO list. Quoting O'Grady: "Treatment with oral
tetracycline, erythromycin or rifampicin has been recommended, but
long-acting tetracyclines, such as doxycycline and minocycline, offer
convenience and improved compliance as fewer doses are required..."
"Oral azithromycin therapy is effective with a single dose." So the
only advantage of azithromycine is the efficacy of single-dose
treatment. In the newborn erythromycin is considered - both by
O'Grady and by Kucers - as the treatment of choice. There is one trial
with azithromycin (Weber and Johnson 1995) but as this is published
in a journal supplement the publication might have been sponsored.
Of course I know what is meant in this discussion by "compulsory
licensing" - that is not the point. But the terminology is very confusing
because under normal circumstances no drug may be marketed unless
it is licensed. So I only made a plea against unnecessary obfuscation.
Best wishes,
Leo Offerhaus
Koedijklaan 1a, NL-1406KW Bussum, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-35-6923288. Fax: +31-35-6923290
E-mail: LO@EURONET.NL CompuServe: 71530,15
Eur J Clin Pharmacol ONLY:
POB 75552, NL-1070AN Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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