STAT+: A ‘blank check’: Bill to boost antibiotic development blasted as a ‘flawed’ giveaway to pharma
Amid mounting concern over antibiotic resistance, a coalition of academics and advocacy groups is urging Congress not to pass legislation to reward drug companies for developing new treatments, because they argue the bill fails to require acceptable clinical trial standards and is tantamount to a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry.
The legislation, known as the Pasteur Act, would encourage drug development by creating a subscription-style business model in which the U.S. government offers upfront payments to drugmakers in exchange for unlimited access to their antibiotics. The idea is to enable pharmaceutical companies to recover their costs and make an appropriate profit without having to sell large volumes of antibiotics.
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