ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2026
Landscape of national antibiotic utilisation in Malaysia: an analysis of national pharmaceutical sales data from 2019 to 2023.
Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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11 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Evaluating national antibiotic use is crucial for understanding the drivers of antimicrobial consumption and resistance, to develop targeted strategies that promote rational antibiotic use amid limited existing evidence. The aim of this study was to examine the trends and patterns in national antibiotic utilisation and associated expenditure in Malaysia. Methods: National pharmaceutical sales data from IQVIA was used to obtain data on antibiotics from 2019 to 2023. Antibiotic utilisation rate was presented as defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day and expenditure as total cost in Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) per 1000 inhabitants. The proportion of antibiotics was further classified into Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) categories. Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) was used to calculate the changes in utilisation and expenditure rate over time. Results: Overall, two-thirds of the total antibiotic utilisation was contributed by primary care and the utilisation in the private sector was higher than that in the public sector for both primary care and hospitals. Antibiotic utilisation rate showed a non-significant change in trend between 2019 and 2023 (CAGR = -0.25%; Conclusion: While the antibiotic utilisation rate showed a fairly stable trend, the proportion of Access antibiotics falls short of the 60% target set by the WHO. Study findings contribute to informing efforts to strengthen and target stewardship efforts in Malaysia.
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