The Guardian: Antibiotic waste is polluting India and China’s rivers; big pharma must act
Alejandro Litovsky, CEO of Earth Security Group

“…In India and China, where a large proportion of antibiotics are produced, the poorly regulated discharge of untreated wastewater into soils and rivers is causing the spread of antibiotic ingredients which cause bacteria to develop immunity to antibiotics, creating superbugs. … As the world goes on a global quest to combat antimicrobial resistance, the focus on industry pollution will continue [to] grow. … Through the [Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI)], the global pharmaceutical industry has called upon governments to collaborate on the threat of increasing antibiotic resistance. PSCI must now also urgently work with governments to achieve the goal of curbing environmental pollution in drug manufacturing. Ultimately, business diplomacy goes beyond corporate philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, by focusing on the deeper governance failures that threaten progress on sustainable development as well as the license to operate of global companies. Pharmaceutical companies now need to cooperate with governments, to root out pollution from their global supply chains” (10/25).