The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recently came out in favor of the bipartisan Reinvigorating Antibiotics and Diagnostic Innovation (READI) Act, which provides a new tax credit for new antibiotics that treat serious or life-threatening infections and addresses unmet medical needs for new diagnostic tests.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Reps. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Mike Thompson (D-CA).
In a release, IDSA President Dr. William Powderly said the growing threat of antibiotic resistance was making increasing numbers of infections difficult or impossible to treat, which underscored the urgent need for new antibiotics.
Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports showed that approximately two million individuals in the United States dealt with antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year, with 23,000 individuals dying from it annually.
“Antibiotic resistance is threatening our ability to provide many types of medical care—including solid organ and bone marrow transplants, joint replacements, cancer chemotherapy, care of preterm infants, and care of deep combat wounds and burns in our military service men and women—all of which rely on the availability of safe and effective antibiotics,” former IDSA President Johan Bakken said.
IDSA added that while the Generating Antibiotics Incentives Now (GAIN) Act and the 21st Century Cures Act were important steps forward, the pipeline for antibiotics remained fragile and that most pharmaceutical companies retreated from antibiotic research and development because they were difficult and costly to develop and fail to provide a profit.