Lubbock Times

House Budget Committee Member Drew Ferguson (R-GA) has raised concerns about the increasing scarcity of antibiotics and its potential impact on local health care systems. This week, Rep. Ferguson led a bipartisan Budget Committee roundtable titled “Threats to Modern Medicine: Examining the Budgetary Effects of Antimicrobial Resistance and the Broken Antibiotic Development Pipeline.” Experts at the roundtable emphasized the urgency of addressing this health care issue.

Rep. Ferguson detailed in an article for The Epoch Times how rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), combined with a shrinking development pipeline for new antibiotics, poses a threat to modern medicine and could drive up health care costs.

"Local health care systems across the country are at risk of no longer working as we once knew them," said Ferguson. "The problem is doctors and nurses are running out of antibiotics to treat their patients—and the costs of inaction threaten the health and financial well-being of every American."

Ferguson explained that AMR occurs when bacteria and fungi develop resistance to drugs designed to kill them. With fewer new antimicrobial drugs being developed, AMR presents serious public health concerns.

"Should safe and effective antibiotics disappear, innovative medical treatments will need to be reconsidered—and decades of medical technology advancements that improve health outcomes will be undone," he warned.

Ferguson highlighted that drug-resistant infections generally require more care and longer hospital stays, increasing costs for federal health programs and patients. He cited estimates indicating antibiotic-resistant infections cost the U.S. economy $20 billion annually in direct healthcare costs and $35 billion in lost productivity.

"The most substantial costs will occur when doctors no longer follow medical standards for patient care," Ferguson noted. "Cancer doctors will be hard-pressed to recommend chemotherapy without antibiotics to protect their patients from infection."

Ferguson pointed out that Russia’s war with Ukraine is exacerbating this issue by creating conditions ripe for drug-resistant infections, which could soon affect U.S. shores.

Due to concerns about over-utilization leading to increased AMR, medical professionals limit prescribing antibiotics. This reality, coupled with many generic versions already available, reduces economic incentives for companies to develop new antimicrobials.

"No new classes of antibiotics have been discovered since the 1980s," said Ferguson, adding that seven out of twelve companies that brought new antibiotics to market in the past decade went bankrupt or exited due to poor sales.

To address these issues, Ferguson introduced the PASTEUR Act, aiming for its passage before year-end. The act proposes a subscription-style payment model not linked to antibiotic sales volume, thereby improving economic incentives for drug developers while keeping prescription rates low.

"The PASTEUR Act represents a necessary investment into a healthier future for America," stated Ferguson. "It would help save billions in costs associated with AMR by revitalizing antibiotic development."

Ferguson concluded by emphasizing bipartisan support in Congress for solving AMR issues: "I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle."

The House Budget Committee continues examining policy solutions like the PASTEUR Act through roundtables featuring insights from economists, experts on drug development financing, and infectious disease doctors.