经济学人218:制药商和抗生素

 　　Drugmakers and antibiotics²

　　制药商和抗生素

　　The path of least resistance

　　最省事的办法

　　Governments reckon that drug firms' research efforts need a shot in the arm

　　政府认为需要鼓励药企的研发工作

　　A GROWING worry in medicine is bugs³' increasing resistance to antibiotics.

　　随着细菌对抗生素的抵抗性越来越强，人们对药物效用的担忧与日俱增。

　　At AstraZeneca's research centre near Boston, scientists toil⁴ to find new weapons.

　　在波士顿附近的阿斯利康研究中心里，科学家们费力地寻找着对付细菌的新武器。

　　Machines screen thousands of drugs each year, robotic arms nimbly handling plates of compounds to test their effect on bacteria.

　　研究所里每年仪器筛查成千上万的药物，用灵活的机械手测试众多药物成分对细菌的作用。

　　But progress is slow.

　　可是进程却很缓慢。

　　It is not our hottest area in terms of commercial return, admits Martin Mackay, AstraZeneca's research and development chief.

　　阿斯利康研究和发展组组长马丁·麦基承认道：从商业收益来看，研制抗生素并不是最赚钱的。

　　Help is on the way.

　　援助很快就要来了。

　　On May 8th the European Commission and Europe's pharmaceutical⁵ association gave details of a plan to boost antibiotics research by up to 590m.

　　五月八号，欧洲委员会和欧洲制药协会公布了一份援助计划的详细内容，这个计划的资助金额高达五亿九千万欧元，旨在鼓励抗生素的研发。

　　The same day in America, a congressional committee weighed measures with a similar goal.

　　就在同一天，美国国会也就着相似的目标权衡相关措施。

　　The attention is welcome. Its effect is less clear.

　　政府的关注值得肯定。但其结果就不太清楚了。

　　Drug-resistant bacteria cost Europe alone about 1.5 billion a year in health costs and lost productivity.

　　光是欧洲，每年因对付抗药性细菌而产生的医疗费用及生产力损失就达15亿欧元左右，

　　But firms have been slow to create new antibiotics.

　　而制药公司新抗生素的研发一直进展得很慢。

　　First, the science is tricky⁶.

　　一是因为这门科学很是棘手。

　　Some bacteria have evolved to pump out the drugs that infiltrate⁷ their walls;

　　一些细菌已经进化到可以将渗入它们细胞壁的药物排出去，

　　other, Gram-negativebugs have an impenetrable outer membrane⁸.

　　而其它革兰氏阴性的细菌都有着药物透不过的细胞外膜。

　　Second, clinical trials are arduous⁹.

　　二是因为临床试验困难重重。

　　Firms struggle to recruit enough patients with rare bacterial¹⁰ infections.

　　公司招不到足够的被罕见细菌感染的病人。

　　Third, commercial prospects¹¹ are grim.

　　三是因为抗生素的商业前景暗淡。

　　Patients take cholesterol¹² drugs for life, but they usually take antibiotics for less than two weeks.

　　胆固醇药物需终身服用，而抗生素的服药期往往不到两周。

　　It is no wonder that Big Pharma has directed its attention elsewhere.

　　所以，大型制药公司将焦点转移到其他领域也就不足为奇了。

　　AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline are now the only big drugmakers with substantial antibiotics programmes.

　　制药界巨头中现在只有阿斯利康和葛兰素史克保留有耗资巨大的抗生素研发项目。

　　Between 1983 and 1992 American regulators approved 30 new antibiotics.

　　美国医药监管机构在1983年到1992年期间批准了30种新抗生素，

　　Since 2003 they have approved just seven.

　　而从2003年至今，仅批准了七种。

　　Governments are keen to change this.

　　政府急于改变这一现状。

　　In February Tetraphase, a small company near Boston, won a $67m contract from America's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for an antibiotic¹ that might treat both anthrax outbreaks and serious infections in hospitals.

　　公司是一家位于波士顿附近的小公司，2月份时，它从美国生物医学高级研究发展局那里赢得了一份六千七百万美元的合同，研发一种抗生素，用于医院应对炭疽的突然爆发，治疗其他严重的细菌感染。

　　GSK also has a contract with BARDA to test an antibiotic for Gram-negative bacteria. However, the company recently suspended enrolments to its trial because of complications in some patients.

　　公司GSK和BARDA也签订了合同测试一种可抵抗革兰氏阴性细菌的抗生素，不过，由于一些病人出现并发症，最近该公司中止了试验的招募工作。

　　Seeking new ways to kill these vicious bugs is likely to be one of the main aims of the European Commission's new partnership¹³.

　　寻找新方法来消灭这些危险细菌很有可能是欧洲委员会寻求新的合作关系的主要目的之一。

　　To boost research in America, Congress needs to renew a deal under which drugmakers pay fees to regulators for reviewing new treatments.

　　要鼓励抗生素的研发，美国国会应恢复监管机构审查新药物疗效，制药商付费的协议。

　　The mammoth¹⁴ bill now before congressmen also includes measures to encourage the search for new antibiotics.

　　现在，摆在国会议员们面前内容繁多的议案中还包括鼓励新抗生素研发的一系列措施。

　　It would extend antibiotics' patents by five years, and let some treatments for life-threatening diseases be marketed before the final stage of clinical trials, thereby¹⁵ reducing their development costs.

　　如果该议案通过，那抗生素的专利权期限将延长五年，而且一些可治疗危及生命的疾病的抗生素在临床试验的最后阶段之前可投放市场，以减少它们的开发成本。

　　Kevin Outterson of Boston University says the government might provide an even bigger boost by paying more for new antibiotics,

　　波士顿大学的凯文·奥特森认为政府可能会进一步刺激抗生素的研发,高价购买新抗生素，

　　but politicians are strongly allergic¹⁶ to spending more on health.

　　不过政治家们对于增加医疗健康开支都非常非常敏感。

　　It may be a decade before the European and American proposals produce an effective new antibiotic.

　　也许十年之后，欧洲和美国采取的措施会促使一种新的有效的抗生素的产生。

　　In the meantime, says David Payne, a research chief at GSK, the best sign of progress will be if other firms rejoin the fight against killer¹⁷ bugs.

　　与此同时，GSK的一名研究组组长说，其他公司也加入到这场对抗致命细菌的斗争中，这才是有进展的最好的征兆。

　　1.resistance n.抵抗；抵触；反对；阻力

　　The strategy was designed to wear down the enemy's resistance.

　　这一策略旨在逐步削弱敌人的抵抗力。

　　2.antibiotic n.抗生素

　　A new potent¹⁸ antibiotic will shortly be available.

　　一种新的高效抗生素不久将在市面销售。

　　3.compound n.化合物；复合词；复合物

　　Water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen.

　　水是氢和氧的化合物。

　　4.pharmaceutical a.制药的；配药的

　　Her brother is interested in pharmaceutical botany.

　　她的哥哥对药草感兴趣。

　　5.congressional a.议会的；国会的；会议的

　　The government also tried to strip him of his Congressional immunity¹⁹.

　　该政府还想取消他的议员豁免权。

1 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

2 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

3 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

5 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

6 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

7 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

8 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

9 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

10 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

11 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

12 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

15 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

16 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

17 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

18 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

19 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。