Passage of the PASTEUR Act Critical to Efforts to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance

World AMR Congress Must Rally for Policy Solutions Like PASTEUR

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As health and policy leaders flock to the nation’s capital this week for the annual World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Congress, the increasing threats of AMR and urgent need for policy solutions top the agenda. With more than 1,000 attendees gathering in Washington, DC to discuss the current landscape of AMR across the globe, there is great opportunity to advance solutions that will better address AMR now and into the future. That includes building momentum for Congress to act.

The Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act is essential to paving a sustainable path forward for research and development of new novel antibiotics and antifungals. The bipartisan PASTEUR Act will address the challenges in the antimicrobial marketplace and encourage the development of much-needed medicines.

“Action on AMR is long overdue. The biopharmaceutical companies capable of delivering new treatments for infectious diseases can only do so much without a supportive infrastructure to fortify their efforts,” said Ken Thorpe of the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease Advisory Board. “Time is of the essence for people facing antibiotic resistant infections, and for the health care providers looking for effective solutions for their patients. The PASTEUR Act is a significant opportunity for our Congress to lead the way forward in support of innovation and consistent delivery of new antimicrobial treatments to patients when they need them.”

On average, someone in the United States gets an antibiotic-resistant infection every 11 seconds, and every 15 minutes someone dies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Globally, AMR now kills more people than HIV/AIDS or malaria. We also know that the COVID-19 pandemic compounded the threats of AMR significantly with a 15 percent increase in infections and related deaths in 2020.

The antibiotics we have relied on for decades are beginning to fail us. Common infections are increasingly difficult to treat and the number of new drugs under development are declining due to a combination of negative market signals and manufacturer bankruptcies.

Learn more about AMR and the policy solutions needed to fight it at fightinfectiousdisease.org and join the conversation on Twitter @ThePFID, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

The Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease is a group of patients, providers, community organizations, academic researchers, business and labor groups, and infectious disease experts working to raise awareness of threats posed by infectious disease, as well as advance solutions to ensure future pandemic preparedness.