PhRMA: Drug, vaccine development for infectious diseases grows

BOSTON Close to 400 drugs and vaccines are in development for fighting infectious diseases, according to one of the pharmaceutical industry’s largest lobbying groups.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Friday that drug makers have 395 new medicines and vaccines in clinical development or under review by the Food and Drug Administration. These include five vaccines and six drugs for malaria, as well as agents for infections like cholera, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and the Ebola virus.

“Infectious diseases continue to cause great human suffering, and the effort to conquer them is one of the greatest human endeavors,” PhRMA president and CEO John Castellani said. “Many once-deadly diseases have been nearly wiped out or are effectively controlled thanks to medical progress, but much more needs to be done.”