Congressmen Doyle & Ferguson introduce Pasteur Act to promote new antimicrobial drugs

Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) introduced the Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act to encourage the development of critically needed antimicrobials and antibiotics – and to ensure their appropriate use and domestic supply.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and at least 35,000 people die as a result. Unfortunately, financial incentives to develop drugs to treat many of these life-threatening infections are lacking.

The PASTEUR Act would address these market failures and increase public health preparedness by keeping novel antibiotics on the market and improving appropriate antibiotic use across the health care system. While current contracts between the government and drug makers base payment on volume, the PASTEUR Act would establish a subscription-style model which would offer antibiotic developers an upfront payment in exchange for access to their antibiotics, encouraging innovation and ensuring our health care system is prepared to treat antibiotic-resistant infections.