PASTEUR Act reintroduced in Congress to support antibiotic development

The PASTEUR Act was reintroduced in the House by five members proposing a subscription-style federal payment model to support development of new antibiotics and antifungals.

The PASTEUR Act was reintroduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives by five members. The bill seeks to change how the federal government pays for novel antibiotics and antifungals to encourage development. It was first filed in 2020 and has not yet received a floor vote. Supporters say the update responds to a shrinking development pipeline and the growing problem of drug-resistant infections. Key facts: - The bill was reintroduced by five House members; the lead sponsor named in the article is Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and other sponsors include Scott Peters, Nick Langworthy, Mike Levin, and Mike Carey. - The proposal would create subscription-style federal contracts that provide fixed annual payments to qualifying developers, with payment amounts described in the article as ranging from $75 million to $300 million per year depending on product value. - The updated bill adds a scoring system to determine which products qualify and how large contracts should be, and establishes a committee of infectious disease experts and patient advocates to guide program design; it also includes funding for outpatient antibiotic stewardship pilot programs. - The article reports that more than 2.8 million drug-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, causing an estimated 35,000 deaths. Summary: The bill is intended to address market barriers that advocates say have reduced private investment in antibiotic and antifungal development and to strengthen public health preparedness against antimicrobial resistance. The revisions aim to add transparency on eligibility and payments and to support stewardship efforts outside hospitals. Undetermined at this time.