Young is referring to the growth hormone avilamycin, marketed in the UK as Maxus G200 by Elanco Animal Health. Avilamycin use is on the increase following an EU-wide ban on four other growth hormones -- virginiamycin, tylosin phosphate, spiramycin and zinc bacitracin. A Danish study suggests that animals given avilamycin produce bacteria that are resistant to a new antibiotic aimed at humans, everninomycin. Everninomycin is seen as potentially-important antibiotic in the treatment of hospital 'superbugs' and therefore human resistance to everninomycin would be dangerous.
That decision will be reviewed in the light of additional studies to be supplied by the person responsible for the entry into circulation of avilamycin, concerning the mechanisms of resistance, the development of resistance in certain micro-organisms and in particular Enterococcus faecium, and any cross-resistance to everninomycin, which is currently under development with a view to future approval for use in human medicine or to other substances used in human medicine having the same site of action as avilamycin.
