Senators introduce bipartisan legislation to further antimicrobial resistance research
The bill was introduced alongside a report that found “superbugs” can cost the U.S. at least $5.7 billion each year.
Two U.S. senators, Maggie Hassan and Roger Marshall, have introduced a new bipartisan bill aimed at combating the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. The proposed legislation, known as the "Stop Superbugs Act," seeks to bolster research efforts in this critical area. According to a recent report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), the costs associated with antibiotic resistance in the United States could exceed $5.7 billion annually.
The JEC, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated that superbugs affect over 2.8 million Americans each year, leading to more than 35,000 deaths.
The bill (PDF) would formally support the Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group grant through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This grant would be instrumental in several key areas, including rapid clinical trial participant recruitment, outreach to community settings, and the development of better diagnostics and new antibiotic pairings in clinical trials. Additionally, the bill aims to enhance patient-reported outcomes in clinical studies.
Sen. Hassan emphasized the urgency of addressing antibiotic-resistant infections, noting that doctors often have to try multiple medications to treat such cases, with some treatments proving ineffective. She highlighted the potential national security implications, stating that as the United States faces the challenge of combating superbugs and other outbreaks, foreign adversaries are rapidly advancing in biotechnology.
Failure to keep pace with scientific and technological progress could leave the U.S. reliant on critical medications only available abroad.
The JEC report, based on CDC data, underscored the severity of the issue, emphasizing that the estimated financial burden from antimicrobial resistance likely represents an underestimation. Sen. Marshall echoed the seriousness of the situation, stressing the need to strengthen the research network and clinical trials to expedite the development of new treatments from the laboratory to the bedside.
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