WASHINGTON — A big legislative package due for renewal later this year could include hundreds of millions of dollars of drug incentives — and the medical community is already jostling to shape its contents.
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act, a 2013 update of a 2006 law, is slated to end in September. It helps fund disaster-response initiatives such as vaccines for smallpox, diagnostic tests for influenza, and hospital programs to treat victims of a nuclear attack.
Now, as the original legislation is up for renewal, medical societies and drug makers are urging Congress to augment funding for the development of new antibiotics — something they say is very much needed to respond to medical emergencies.
