First indigenous antibiotic drug: Naphithromycin

• Recently, the first indigenous antibiotic drug called Naphithromycin was launched.
• It was launched by Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in New Delhi.
• It will be used for resistant infections.
• It has been developed in collaboration with a unit of the Department of Biotechnology.
  • This unit is Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
• It has been launched in the market under the name Miknaf.
• It aims to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Antibiotics:

• Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.
• They kill bacteria or prevent their reproduction.

Naphithromycin:

• It is an antibiotic drug.
• It is specifically designed to treat community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.

Pneumonia:

• This serious illness is caused by drug-resistant bacteria.
• It disproportionately affects children, the elderly, and individuals with weakened immune systems, such as diabetes or cancer patients.
• The lungs are most commonly affected.