Group Advocates Treating Superbugs Like Rare Diseases
The research group Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is calling on the US Food and Drug Administration to classify superbugs as rare diseases in a bid to spur the development of new classes of antibiotics to treat increasingly drug-resistant strains of bacteria, reports Reuters.
The research area has been plagued by a lack of investment, as drugmakers have been shying away from expensive investments in a historically unprofitable sector.
The solution, argues IDSA, lies in opening up the Orphan Drug Act to include superbugs. The law offers tax credits, market exclusivity and other assistance to companies working to bring therapies for so-called 'Orphan' diseases-diseases with very low numbers of patients in the US-to market.
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Reuters - Group asks FDA to treat superbugs like rare diseases