Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., introduced the Stop Superbugs Act on Aug. 4 alongside a Joint Economic Committee-Minority report estimating antimicrobial resistance costs the U.S. healthcare system at least $5.7 billion annually.
Here are five things to know:
- The bill would formally authorize the National Institutes of Health’s Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group grant to help facilitate clinical trials for new antibiotics.
- The legislation outlines four priorities. The NIH grant would support rapid recruitment of clinical trial participants, community-based recruitment outreach, pairing new antibiotics with better diagnostics during clinical trials and development of patient-reported outcomes.
- Drug-resistant infections remain a major public health burden. According to the report, more than 2.8 million people in the U.S. develop antimicrobial-resistant infections each year and more than 35,000 die. It estimated the infections cost the healthcare system at least $5.7 billion annually.
- The true economic impact is likely higher. The report said the $5.7 billion estimate excludes follow-up healthcare costs, lost productivity, patient out-of-pocket expenses and long-term health effects associated with antimicrobial-resistant infections.
- The report cites market challenges slowing antibiotic development. New antibiotics are expensive to develop, generate limited financial returns and struggle to compete with low-cost generic antibiotics, creating a need for federal action to support innovation.
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