In the US, antibiotic innovation has skidded to a halt. The last novel class approved by the FDA debuted in 1984. Congress could give drugmakers a boost, but time is running out.
Compare the $6 billion in funding with the more than $1 billion cost of bringing out a single drug, and it’s clear the Pasteur Act won’t go far. It could support a couple of new drugs before it would need to be reauthorized. But experts who have been pressing for a program like this say that it won’t only guarantee the success of individual products, but will also signal to public markets and private capital that antibiotic development can be a reliable investment.
There are several hurdles in the way. The first is that the returning Congress doesn’t have much time left. The second is that, to succeed, the Pasteur Act will have to be attached to a larger piece of legislation, at a moment when lots of sponsors are trying to get their pet proposals through. One vehicle might be an omnibus spending bill that reauthorizes health programs on the verge of expiring. Another may be the annual, bipartisan, usually nonpolitical National Defense Authorization Act.
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