A bill proposing the federal government pay in advance for unlimited antibiotics, à la Netflix subscription style, is getting renewed attention amid the ongoing shortage of amoxicillin, The New York Times reported Dec. 16.
The PASTEUR Act, introduced in 2020 to need $6 billion, would disrupt the way drugmakers profit from antibiotics as it's designed for the government to pay an upfront cost to new antibiotic products for an unlimited supply once the FDA approves them.
Among the more than 100 ongoing drug shortages, antibiotics are at more risk of supply hiccups because they don't make as much revenue as brand-name drugs and million-dollar-generating genomic therapies. Amoxicillin, for example, has been in shortage for months and some companies recently pushed their resupply dates to early 2023.
Another factor is the building resistance to antibiotics, which is partially setoff by providers overprescribing the products when they aren't necessary.
The Act will likely be sent to Congress' next session — a delay that can cost healthcare billions of dollars.