July 03, 2026
The effort to control antibiotic resistance has reached an important milestone. In his Hindustan Times column, Vital Signs, OHT’S Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan details how India’s pharmaceutical company, Wockhardt, has become the first in the country to receive US FDA approval for a new antibiotic, Zaynich.
Zaynich is an intravenous antibiotic designed to treat complicated urinary tract infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, especially when existing antibiotics no longer work. Another Indian company, Bugworks, is also developing a promising antibiotic to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections. These breakthroughs are significant because very few new antibiotics have been introduced in recent decades, even as bacteria have become increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics.
Dr. Laxminarayan writes that developing new antibiotics is only part of the solution. He suggests that governments and researchers must continue investing in scientific research, clinical trials, and policies that encourage antibiotic innovation. At the same time, these medicines must be used wisely to slow the spread of drug resistance.
Preventing infections through vaccination, improving access to clean water and sanitation, strengthening infection control, and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use are all essential. Innovation, infection prevention, and responsible antibiotic use must go hand in hand to protect these life-saving medicines for future generations. “In the case of antibiotics, the promise of leading the fight to treat bacterial infections will depend not just on whether the country can both build new antibiotics, but also have the discipline to use them judiciously without squandering their effectiveness.”
Read it here.
