The Valley Chronicle - Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but espec

Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but especially now

 · 3 min read

While the pandemic is by no means over, Covid-19 isn't the only threat to public health we face. In fact, it might not even be our most serious challenge.

Despite the tragic loss of over a thousand American lives to the virus each day, case counts have dropped dramatically and hospitalizations and deaths are falling too.

By contrast, we're rapidly losing the ability to fight "superbugs," the bacteria and fungi that have evolved and developed resistance to almost all existing antimicrobial treatments. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) already kills at least 35,000 Americans each year and about 700,000 people worldwide. And because these superbugs may soon learn to evade even our strongest antibiotics, they're on track to kill 10 million people worldwide annually by 2050.

A world without antibiotics would catapult us back into the medical dark ages, where simple cuts and scrapes could prove fatal, and routine procedures like joint replacements and C-sections become horrifically risky.

The only way to stop this increasing threat is to develop a new arsenal of antibiotic treatments, which will require government policies that encourage, rather than inhibit, innovation.

In recent years, many drug companies have scaled back, or even fully abandoned, their research into new antibiotics due to unfavorable economics. Drug development is expensive. Bringing a single medicine all the way from initial concept to FDA approval costs an average of $2.6 billion and typically requires 10 to 15 years.

For antibiotics developers, those high up-front costs present a particularly thorny problem, because advanced antibiotics are only supposed to be used in emergencies. These types of medicines naturally have low sales volumes, making it tough for companies to recoup their initial investment, much less earn a return.

Some lawmakers have taken note of this market failure and proposed measures, such as the PASTEUR Act, that would increase reimbursements for new antibiotics and reward companies that bring them to market.

Those reforms are sorely needed to combat arguably the biggest threat to public health in the 21st century. But even those measures won't be enough if Congress proceeds with its plan to allow the government to set drug prices.

The Build Back Better Act, which is currently stalled in the Senate but by no means dead, would allow federal officials to fix the price of dozens of common medicines. That would slash biotech companies' revenues by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Such drastic cuts in funding would force companies to scale back their research, thereby hamstringing efforts to manufacture and distribute these therapies for Covid-19, superbugs, and all sorts of other diseases, from cancer and diabetes to cardiovascular diseases.

From the perspective of patients, lowering drug prices should focus on reducing what they spend out-of-pocket. While the Build Back Better Act caps out-of-pocket spending at $2,000, this is still too high for many patients, particularly those who are already living with one or more chronic conditions and were still well before the pandemic.

There's a lot on the table as we still work to close the door on the Covid-19 pandemic, and perhaps even more importantly work to prevent and prepare for future ones. Making sure that we have a stable runway for innovations that will protect us into the future should be a top priority.

Kenneth E. Thorpe is a professor of health policy at Emory University and chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.


S

Leprechauns bring lots of green to Soboba Tribal Preschool English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 15, 2022

Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians

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Leprechauns bring lots of green to Soboba Tribal Preschool

 · 3 min read

Koi Nation of Northern California and California State Parks Renew Memorandum of Understanding and Celebrate Renaming of Ridge and Trail English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Feb 25, 2021

Koi Nation of Northern California and California State Parks

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Koi Nation of Northern California, USA

 · 0 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022

24 Kids Shop with a Cop in Hemet

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24 Kids Shop with a Cop in Hemet

 · 1 min read

MSJC Hosts Temecula Valley Campus Dedication Ceremony English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022

MSJC Hosts Temecula Valley Campus Dedication Ceremony

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MSJC Hosts Temecula Valley Campus Dedication Ceremony

 · 2 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022

NFPA urges added caution this holiday season, as Christ

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NFPA urges added caution this holiday season, as Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are among the leading days of the year for U.S. home fires

 · 3 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022

Stick to a “Go Safely” Game Plan: Celebrate the Holiday

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Stick to a “Go Safely” Game Plan: Celebrate the Holiday Season Responsibly National “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Enforcement Campaign Begins Dec. 14

 · 2 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Oct 27, 2022

Padilla Hosts Virtual Federal Student Debt Relief Brief

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Padilla Hosts Virtual Federal Student Debt Relief Briefing to Encourage Californians to Apply

 · 3 min read

Police Seek Help Locating Hit-and-Run Vehicle English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022

Police Seek Help Locating Hit-and-Run Vehicle

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Police Seek Help Locating Hit-and-Run Vehicle

 · 1 min read

Four CSUSB alumni win top award for radio show English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022

Four CSUSB alumni win top award for radio show

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Four CSUSB alumni win top award for radio show

 · 2 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022

Follow-up: Plane Crashes Near Residential Homes in Heme

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Follow-up: Plane Crashes Near Residential Homes in Hemet

 · 1 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022

CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program partners with new

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CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program partners with new mobile medical clinic

 · 2 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022

Padilla Joins Farm Workers for a Workday as Part of the

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Padilla Joins Farm Workers for a Workday as Part of the ‘Take Our Jobs’ Campaign

 · 2 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022

CHP plans DUI checkpoint in Hemet Valley

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CHP plans DUI checkpoint in Hemet Valley

 · 1 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022

Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but espec

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Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but especially now

 · 3 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022

C.W. Driver companies breaks ground on new three-story

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C.W. Driver companies breaks ground on new three-story stem education building

 · 3 min read

35.3% Of Unvaccinated California Residents Cite Governm English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022

35.3% Of Unvaccinated California Residents Cite Governm

staff
35.3% Of Unvaccinated California Residents Cite Government Distrust

 · 4 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022

ICYMI: Padilla Highlights From Judge Jackson’s Supreme

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ICYMI: Padilla Highlights From Judge Jackson’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing

 · 6 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022

MSJC Celebrates Groundbreaking of New STEM Building and

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MSJC Celebrates Groundbreaking of New STEM Building and Opening of New Animatronic Makerspace

 · 2 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 3, 2022

Digital Newspaper

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Digital Newspaper

 · 1 min read

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 3, 2022

MSJC Receives $500,000 Apprenticeship Grant

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MSJC Receives $500,000 Apprenticeship Grant

 · 1 min read
The Valley Chronicle - Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but espec

Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but especially now

 · 3 min read

While the pandemic is by no means over, Covid-19 isn't the only threat to public health we face. In fact, it might not even be our most serious challenge.

Despite the tragic loss of over a thousand American lives to the virus each day, case counts have dropped dramatically and hospitalizations and deaths are falling too.

By contrast, we're rapidly losing the ability to fight "superbugs," the bacteria and fungi that have evolved and developed resistance to almost all existing antimicrobial treatments. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) already kills at least 35,000 Americans each year and about 700,000 people worldwide. And because these superbugs may soon learn to evade even our strongest antibiotics, they're on track to kill 10 million people worldwide annually by 2050.

A world without antibiotics would catapult us back into the medical dark ages, where simple cuts and scrapes could prove fatal, and routine procedures like joint replacements and C-sections become horrifically risky.

The only way to stop this increasing threat is to develop a new arsenal of antibiotic treatments, which will require government policies that encourage, rather than inhibit, innovation.

In recent years, many drug companies have scaled back, or even fully abandoned, their research into new antibiotics due to unfavorable economics. Drug development is expensive. Bringing a single medicine all the way from initial concept to FDA approval costs an average of $2.6 billion and typically requires 10 to 15 years.

For antibiotics developers, those high up-front costs present a particularly thorny problem, because advanced antibiotics are only supposed to be used in emergencies. These types of medicines naturally have low sales volumes, making it tough for companies to recoup their initial investment, much less earn a return.

Some lawmakers have taken note of this market failure and proposed measures, such as the PASTEUR Act, that would increase reimbursements for new antibiotics and reward companies that bring them to market.

Those reforms are sorely needed to combat arguably the biggest threat to public health in the 21st century. But even those measures won't be enough if Congress proceeds with its plan to allow the government to set drug prices.

The Build Back Better Act, which is currently stalled in the Senate but by no means dead, would allow federal officials to fix the price of dozens of common medicines. That would slash biotech companies' revenues by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Such drastic cuts in funding would force companies to scale back their research, thereby hamstringing efforts to manufacture and distribute these therapies for Covid-19, superbugs, and all sorts of other diseases, from cancer and diabetes to cardiovascular diseases.

From the perspective of patients, lowering drug prices should focus on reducing what they spend out-of-pocket. While the Build Back Better Act caps out-of-pocket spending at $2,000, this is still too high for many patients, particularly those who are already living with one or more chronic conditions and were still well before the pandemic.

There's a lot on the table as we still work to close the door on the Covid-19 pandemic, and perhaps even more importantly work to prevent and prepare for future ones. Making sure that we have a stable runway for innovations that will protect us into the future should be a top priority.

Kenneth E. Thorpe is a professor of health policy at Emory University and chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.


S
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022
The Valley Chronicle - Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but espec

Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but especially now

English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022 MSJC Hosts Temecula Valley Campus Dedication Ceremony
MSJC Hosts Temecula Valley Campus Dedication Ceremony

MSJC Hosts Temecula Valley Campus Dedication Ceremony

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022
Stick to a “Go Safely” Game Plan: Celebrate the Holiday

Stick to a “Go Safely” Game Plan: Celebrate the Holiday Season Responsibly National “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Enforcement Campaign Begins Dec. 14

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022 Police Seek Help Locating Hit-and-Run Vehicle
Police Seek Help Locating Hit-and-Run Vehicle

Police Seek Help Locating Hit-and-Run Vehicle

 · 1 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022
Follow-up: Plane Crashes Near Residential Homes in Hemet

Follow-up: Plane Crashes Near Residential Homes in Hemet

 · 1 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022
Padilla Joins Farm Workers for a Workday as Part of the

Padilla Joins Farm Workers for a Workday as Part of the ‘Take Our Jobs’ Campaign

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022
Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but espec

Don't undermine scientific discovery -- ever, but especially now

 · 3 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022 35.3% Of Unvaccinated California Residents Cite Governm
35.3% Of Unvaccinated California Residents Cite Governm

35.3% Of Unvaccinated California Residents Cite Government Distrust

 · 4 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022
MSJC Celebrates Groundbreaking of New STEM Building and

MSJC Celebrates Groundbreaking of New STEM Building and Opening of New Animatronic Makerspace

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 3, 2022
MSJC Receives $500,000 Apprenticeship Grant

MSJC Receives $500,000 Apprenticeship Grant

 · 1 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022
24 Kids Shop with a Cop in Hemet

24 Kids Shop with a Cop in Hemet

 · 1 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Dec 8, 2022
Stick to a “Go Safely” Game Plan: Celebrate the Holiday

Stick to a “Go Safely” Game Plan: Celebrate the Holiday Season Responsibly National “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Enforcement Campaign Begins Dec. 14

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022 Four CSUSB alumni win top award for radio show
Four CSUSB alumni win top award for radio show

Four CSUSB alumni win top award for radio show

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Jun 9, 2022
Padilla Joins Farm Workers for a Workday as Part of the

Padilla Joins Farm Workers for a Workday as Part of the ‘Take Our Jobs’ Campaign

 · 2 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022
C.W. Driver companies breaks ground on new three-story

C.W. Driver companies breaks ground on new three-story stem education building

 · 3 min read
English, Valley Chronicle: Thu, Mar 24, 2022
MSJC Celebrates Groundbreaking of New STEM Building and

MSJC Celebrates Groundbreaking of New STEM Building and Opening of New Animatronic Makerspace

 · 2 min read