The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic sparked widespread alarm as to how infectious diseases spread. For most of us, COVID-19 was the first pandemic we lived through. Never had a sneeze or a cough from someone within six feet of us felt so dangerous and potentially infectious, or even deadly.

Public health experts and medical professionals like myself have learned a lot since COVID halted our day-to-day lives. The lessons learned are helping America’s infectious disease community identify and address other vulnerabilities in our health care system, leading to a rapidly growing recognition of the next new major threat in the United States healthcare system.

This threat is ‘superbugs.’

Superbugs are strains of bacteria that become resistant to multiple antibiotics. Unfortunately, antibiotic resistance has risen dramatically, and superbugs are now looming as the next major national health crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “Antibiotic Resistance Threats” in the United States report, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and at least 35,000 people die as a result. When infections become resistant to antibiotics, they cause a downward spiral for patients’ health, enormous strains for the hospitals caring for them, and cost billions of dollars to treat annually.

To fight this, we need novel – or new – antibiotics to combat this “rise of the superbugs.”

Developing new medicines is complex but especially when it comes to creating new antibiotics. Public health experts recommend that any new antibiotics be used in very limited circumstances and only in the most necessary cases to slow and control continued antimicrobial resistance. This dynamic has made it challenging for biopharmaceutical companies to risk the substantial funding needed to develop new medicines if they cannot recoup their research and development costs because of the restricted use.  

The current drug pipeline has only 43 antibacterial therapeutics in clinical development worldwide – only 19 of which are for the most threatening gram-negative pathogens – a critical area of unmet need. This pipeline is insufficient.

The good news is there is a pathway for how America can address the growing threat of superbug infections. The better news is this approach involves an innovative, collaborative and fiscally conscious partnership between the government, hospitals and the biopharmaceutical industry.

It’s the brainchild of Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Indiana U.S. Sen. Todd Young, co-sponsors of the Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act. The measure is included in Congress’ end-of-year budget package, with a vote expected before Congress adjourns in December.

The Act seeks to tap into America’s world-leading bioscience innovation and talent – demonstrated most clearly in the lightning-speed development of the COVID vaccine. The bill would award research and development funding to incentivize drug makers to make new antibiotics and grant programs for hospitals to ensure the appropriate use of antibiotics. In turn, the federal government and all Americans get a reliable, long-term supply of novel antimicrobials.

The PASTEUR Act balances public health preparedness, innovation and incentives to bring novel antibiotics to market. The Act also ensures American taxpayer dollars are protected by ensuring funds only go to pay for new antimicrobials that get FDA approval, are available to patients and meet unmet needs.

Yet the PASTEUR Act faces an uphill legislative climb. The current lame-duck session of Congress promises to be fraught with political peril and a full agenda. Bold, assertive action must take place now if we are to have the pieces in place to avoid one of the next major potential health crises.

It’s why medical and scientific voices from around Colorado and the nation are standing up for patients to bypass this political rhetoric.

As a board-certified infectious-diseases clinical pharmacist working in both antimicrobial stewardship and infectious diseases in Colorado, I encourage every Coloradan to support Sen. Bennet in his efforts to pass the bipartisan PASTEUR Act and to ask their members of Congress to take action now for its quick passage.

Christine MacBrayne is a state licensed infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship clinical pharmacist specialist with nearly 15 years of professional practice. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy in 2014 with a PharmD. In addition, she also received a Master of Science in Clinical Science from the University of Colorado in 2017.