US lawmakers this week introduced a bipartisan bill that would aid efforts to develop new antibiotics.

The Stop Superbugs Act, introduced this week by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), would authorize the National Institutes of Health’s Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group to facilitate clinical trials for new antibiotics to address the rising threat of drug-resistant infections.

Specific objectives of the bill include rapid recruitment of clinical trial participants, community-based recruitment outreach, pairing new antibiotics with better diagnostics during clinical trials, and development of patient-reported outcomes.

“We’ve made incredible progress because of antibiotics, but they’re only valuable if they still work,” Sen. Marshall said in a news release. “The STOP Superbugs Act helps strengthen the research network and clinical trials needed to speed new treatments from the lab to the bedside.”

A cost and national security issue

The bill was introduced in conjunction with a new report from the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, which estimates that multidrug-resistant infections in hospital patients cost the US healthcare system $5.7 billion annually. But the report notes that the actual cost is likely higher when follow-up care, patient out-of-pocket costs, lost work time, and diminished productivity are taken into account.

“Nearly 3 million Americans get sick each year with an infection that cannot be treated with the routine antibiotics that we have today,” said Sen. Hassan. “Doctors who are treating patients with a resistant infection often have to try multiple antibiotics, and in some cases, no treatment options exist.” 

Hassan also warned that developing new antibiotics is a national security issue.

“If the United States does not keep up with the science and innovation coming from countries like China, we risk falling behind and becoming reliant on critical new medications that are only available abroad,” she said.

The bill is one of several in Congress that target antibiotic resistance and new antibiotic development. Others include the PASTEUR Act, which was first introduced in 2020, and has yet to be adopted, and the SUPER BUGS Act. 

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