Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections contributed to the deaths of nearly 5 million people in 2019, and killed at least 1.27 million. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to more than 10 million deaths each year, outpacing annual deaths from cancer. In 2023 alone, at least four superbug outbreaks have gripped the attention of health experts, the media, and the public.
Despite the vital need for antimicrobials as part of virtually any pandemic or public health emergency response, the medicines the U.S. relies upon to treat serious infections have remained largely the same for nearly 40 years and are increasingly ineffective against quickly evolving bacteria and fungi.
The Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act supports both antimicrobial development and stewardship to help ensure that these lifesaving drugs are available when Americans need them most. The pervasive nature of multidrug-resistant superbugs combined with the chronically broken pipeline of urgently needed new drugs underscores the grim reality that we cannot wait any longer to pass this crucial legislation.
- PASTEUR Act Sponsors' Summary
- PASTEUR Act 2023: Section-by-Section
- Policy Changes: PASTEUR Act of 2021 vs. PASTEUR Act of 2023
- PASTEUR Act Stakeholder Support Letter
- House Subcommittee Hearing: "Antimicrobial Resistance: Examining an Emerging Public Health Threat"
- Senate Subcommittee Hearing: "Superbugs: The Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance on Modern Medicine"
- Superbugs Are Here. The Time to Act Is Now.
- Superbugs Can Affect Anyone
- Fact Sheet: Human & Economic Toll of Increase in Resistant Infections (In the States)