FACT SHEET: President’s 2016 Budget Proposes Historic Investment to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Protect Public Health | The White House

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

January 27, 2015

“We now have a national strategy to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, to better protect our children and grandchildren from the reemergence of diseases and infections that the world conquered decades ago.”

– President Barack Obama’s remarks at the Global Health Security Agenda Summit, regarding the Executive Order to Combat Antibiotic Resistance, September 26, 2014

 

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health issues facing the world today.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the United States alone.  Antibiotic resistance limits our ability to quickly and reliably treat bacterial infections, and the rise of resistance could hamper our ability to perform a range of modern medical procedures from joint replacements to organ transplants, the safety of which depends on our ability to treat bacterial infections that can arise as post-surgical complications.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria also pose economic threats.  The CDC reports that antibiotic-resistant infections account for at least $20 billion in excess direct health care costs and up to $35 billion in lost productivity due to hospitalizations and sick days each year.

Given the clear need for action on this issue, in September 2014 President Obama signed an Executive Order launching Federal efforts to combat the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  The Administration also issued its National Strategy on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, which outlines steps the U.S. government will take to improve prevention, detection, and control of resistant pathogens.  In addition, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology released a report with recommendations for addressing the antibiotic-resistance crisis.

The President’s FY 2016 Budget builds on these recent efforts by nearly doubling the amount of Federal funding for combating and preventing antibiotic resistance to more than $1.2 billion.  The funding will improve antibiotic stewardship; strengthen antibiotic resistance risk assessment, surveillance, and reporting capabilities; and drive research innovation in the human health and agricultural sectors.

This $1.2 billion investment increases funding for antibiotic resistance across the government in FY 2016.  For example, the Budget:

o   More than $650 million across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to significantly expand America’s investments in development of antibacterial and new rapid diagnostics, and to launch a large scale effort to characterize drug resistance.  Earlier this year, NIH-supported scientists developed a novel technique for extracting powerful antibiotics from soil, including teixobactin: the first new antibiotic to be discovered in more than 25 years.  The FY 2016 investment increases support for this kind of innovative research and discovery.

o   More than $280 million at the CDC to support antibiotic stewardship, outbreak surveillance, antibiotic use and resistance monitoring, and research and development related to combating antibiotic resistance.

o   $47 million at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support evaluation of new antibacterial drugs for patient treatments and antibiotic stewardship in animal agriculture

Improving Antibiotic Stewardship

Judicious use of antibiotics is essential to slow the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and extend the useful lifetime of effective antibiotics.  Preserving the usefulness of antibiotic resources without compromising human or animal health requires coordination, cooperation, and engagement of healthcare providers, healthcare leaders, pharmaceutical companies, veterinarians, the agricultural and pet industries, and patients.

The President’s FY 2016 Budget supports several key efforts to address issues related to antibiotic stewardship, including:

Strengthening Antibiotic Resistance Risk Assessment, Surveillance, and Reporting Capabilities

Resistance can arise in bacterial pathogens affecting humans, animals, and the environment.  The adoption of a “One-Health” approach that integrates human health, veterinary, and ecosystem surveillance will help strengthen detection and control of antibiotic resistance.  Improved surveillance will be achieved through enhancement, expansion, and linkage of existing systems that monitor human and animal pathogens, including the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), the Emerging Infections Program (EIP), the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), and animal health laboratories.

To improve national and international capabilities for surveillance and reporting of antibiotic resistance, the President’s FY 2016 Budget proposes expansion of existing capabilities and establishment of new supporting networks and programs.  Efforts in this area include:

o   Support FDA activities related to integrated monitoring of bacterial antibiotic resistance via new collaborative approaches for the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System.

o   Enable the DoD to collect ongoing and enhanced antibiotic use and resistance surveillance data.

o   Support HHS’s Office of Global Affairs to promote international communication and collaboration on combating antibiotic resistance, improve criteria for susceptibility reporting, and coordinate regulatory approaches with international agencies.

o   Expand VA efforts to perform additional surveillance.

Driving Research Innovation in the Human Health and Agricultural Sectors

Antibiotics for treating human disease that lose their effectiveness due to the emergence of resistance must be replaced with new drugs.  Alternatives to antibiotics are also needed in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine.  Advancing antibiotic development and increasing the number of candidates in the drug-development pipeline requires intensified efforts to boost basic scientific research, attract greater private investment, and facilitate clinical trials of new antibiotics.  The President’s FY 2016 Budget will:

o   An increase of $100 million within NIH’s existing research activities, including the development of an antibacterial resistance clinical trial network for rapid testing of new drugs to treat multi-drug resistant bacteria.

o   An increase of over $100 million at BARDA for the development of new antibiotic therapies and diagnostics.

o   Support for FDA efforts to streamline the development pathway to facilitate treatment of patients with unmet medical needs.

o   Support for DOD participation in primary and collaborative efforts to identify new small-molecule candidates and point-of-care diagnostics.

The United States government has laid out an ambitious plan that aims to help dramatically curb the expansion of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.  Over the next five years, the Administration’s efforts to combat antibiotic resistance will enhance national capabilities for antibiotic stewardship, outbreak surveillance, and research in the human healthcare and agricultural sectors.  This effort holds the potential to:

Together, the Administration’s proposed investments of more than $1.2 billion to combat and prevent antibiotic resistance that will lead to critical new developments that could fundamentally transform how public health prevents the transmission and emergence of antibiotic-resistant infections.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/27/fact-sheet-president-s-2016-budget-proposes-historic-investment-combat-a