Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced a bill Jan. 16, 2015, to promote the development of much-needed antibiotics. In a letter, The Pew Charitable Trusts expressed support for the Promise for Antibiotics and Therapeutics for Health (PATH) Act, which the senators previously introduced Dec. 10, 2014.
Retired Rear Adm. James Carey, the national chairman of the Flag and General Officers' Network, also expressed support for the bill, writing, "American active duty military personnel and veterans are dying from bacterial infections that existing antibiotics cannot treat. These brave men and women need new drugs to treat these diseases and save their lives."
A coalition of advocacy groups, health care providers, professional societies, and industry representatives also expressed support for PATH in a letter, saying, without it "antibiotic research and development (R&D) will continue to struggle," and patients will continue to die without new treatments.