Resistencia a los antibióticos

The report identifies pharmaceutical manufacturing as a critical third driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), alongside human and animal misuse. Field research in India revealed high levels of drug-resistant E. coli near factories in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Delhi, specifically linking Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs & Pharmaceuticals to these hotspots. The document details a complex global supply chain where Chinese firms produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) under poor environmental conditions, which are then processed in India and exported to Western healthcare systems, including the UK's NHS and US distributors like McKesson. It concludes that current regulatory inspections focus on product safety rather than environmental impact, allowing pollution to accelerate a global health crisis.

• Pharmaceutical manufacturing pollution is identified as the third most significant cause of antimicrobial resistance, complementing the impacts of excessive human and animal antibiotic consumption.
• Field sampling in India across 34 sites found 16 locations with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Four sites showed resistance to the three largest antibiotic classes: cephalosporins, carbapenems, and fluoroquinolones.
• Three specific companies—Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs and Pharmaceuticals—were identified as resistance hotspots that supply products internationally.
• Aurobindo Pharma is highlighted as particularly dangerous due to its history of pollution in India and its practice of importing raw materials from contaminated Chinese factories.
• China is the world's largest exporter of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), supplying over 50% of the global market and over 80% of penicillin salts to India.
• In China, pharmaceutical waste is frequently repurposed as fertilizer due to the high cost of incineration, potentially spreading antibiotic residues into the soil and food chain.
• Current regulatory inspections by the US FDA and European Medicines Agency focus on product safety and 'good manufacturing practices' but do not mandate or sanction environmental protection or wastewater treatment.
• Contaminated supply chains link Indian and Chinese factories to major Western entities, including the UK National Health Service (NHS), French hospitals, and US distributors such as McKesson and CVS Health.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2016). Resistencia a los antibióticos. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Superbugs_in_the_supply_chain_Spanish.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Resistencia a los antibióticos. 2016. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Superbugs_in_the_supply_chain_Spanish.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Resistencia a los antibióticos |date=October 2016 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Superbugs_in_the_supply_chain_Spanish.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2016resistencia, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Resistencia a los antibióticos}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Superbugs_in_the_supply_chain_Spanish.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }