In a July 31, 2018 press release, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced upcoming efforts by FDA to implement “good antimicrobial stewardship practices.”  FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has already taken steps to support judicious use in animals of antimicrobials important for treating human disease.

• FDA will soon publish a five-year blueprint to further address antimicrobial resistance in animals.  The three key goals of this blueprint will be:
• “Aligning antimicrobial drug product use with the principles of antimicrobial stewardship;
• Supporting efforts to foster better stewardship of antimicrobials in veterinary settings; and
• Enhancing the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial drug use in animals.”

Some specific issues FDA will address include setting durations of use for medically important antimicrobials and bringing all dosage forms of medically important antimicrobials under veterinary oversight.   FDA will address use of antimicrobials in companion animals and it expects to publish a list of all medically important antimicrobials that do not have a defined duration of use on their labels.  Finally, FDA notes that it will improve the collection and sharing of data on use and resistance of antimicrobials.

Interested parties will have an opportunity to participate in FDA’s development of its antimicrobial policies via comment on the blueprint or associated guidance.