More than 40 percent of the antibiotics released between 1980 and 2009 were withdrawn from the market for safety concerns, lack of effectiveness compared to existing drugs, and weak sales, according to the first study to evaluate the status of 30 years of antibiotic approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The study, released in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, found that antibiotics were withdrawn from the market at a rate three times higher than other drugs released between 1980 and 2009...

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