releases: https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=0A4BE9BD-4076-4AF9-964F-95E661491755
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=0A4BE9BD-4076-4AF9-964F-95E661491755 | As United Nations Focuses on Superbugs, Hatch Highlights PATH Act | 2016-09-21 | 2016 | 2016-09 | Republican | House | UT | Orrin Hatch | H000338 | www.hatch.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C.—As the 193 member countries of the United Nations prepare to sign and accept a draft declaration to globally fight superbugs, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the longest-serving member and former chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, highlighted the importance of the PATH Act—a bipartisan proposal that would create a new drug approval pathway to streamline access, bolster innovation, and encourage development of potentially life-saving antibiotic drugs for patients. The UN resolution calls on countries to commit to a global plan that would prevent the spread of microbes resistant to antimicrobial drugs. It also encourages governments to monitor the spread of these bacteria and explore new models to support innovation. “Today, the United Nations has recognized that drug-resistant bacteria poses a critical threat to global health,” Hatch said. “Sixty-three percent of infectious disease doctors have treated patients with infections that did not respond to any antibiotics. Two million Americans acquire serious infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, and 23,000 people die annually from these infections. A dearth of antibiotic drugs in development compounds this crisis. Consider that almost three decades have passed without the discovery of new types of antibiotics. We need the PATH Act to help develop new antibiotics to treat the most serious of superbugs.” Background “Superbugs”—or bacteria that are substantially resistant or unresponsive to any existing and available antibiotic—are an increasingly urgent public health threat, both at home and abroad. While antibiotic-resistant bacteria kills thousands of Americans each year, less than ten new antibiotics have made it to market since 2000. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is also a significant concern to our troops, affecting more than a third of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. In an effort to address some of the significant regulatory obstacles hindering antibiotic development and patient access to life-saving treatments, the Promise for Antibiotics and Therapeutics for Health (PATH) Act would permit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve an antibacterial drug for a limited patient population upon determining that the drug treats a serious or life-threatening condition and addresses an unmet need. In addition, the bill includes several provisions to guide appropriate use of antibiotics approved under this pathway, such as labeling and promotional material requirements. Letters of Support: 1 Pew Charitable Trust [LINK] 2 Infectious Diseases Society of America [LINK] 3 National Military and Veterans Alliance [LINK] 4 The Flag and General Officers’ Network [LINK] 5 The following healthcare providers, hospitals, pharmacists, clinical laboratory scientists and medical microbiologists, public health experts, patients and advocates. [LINK] Alliance for Aging Research Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology American Academy of Pediatrics American Association of Bovine Practitioners American Gastroenterological Association American Public Health Association American Society for Microbiology American Society of Transplant Surgeons American Thoracic Society Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Cempra, Inc. Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention Dignity Health HIV Medicine Association Immune Deficiency Foundation Infectious Diseases Society of America Making-A-Difference in Infectious Diseases March of Dimes National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners ONCORD, Inc. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Research!America Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Society of Critical Care Medicine Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists The Pew Charitable Trusts Theravance Biopharma Trust for America's Health UPMC Center for Health Security | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |