PASTEUR Act of 2026

Increased Availability of Lifesaving Medicines: The bill allows the Secretary to enter into contracts with sponsors to ensure the availability of eligible antimicrobials (Section 399PP(a)).

Improved Patient Care Outcomes: The scoring methodology rewards drugs that improve clinical outcomes for patients with multi-drug-resistant infections, reduce toxicity, and reduce adverse events (Section 399PP(d)(2)(A)).

Support for Health System Preparedness: The act is intended to promote national health system preparedness and defend the United States and its military (Section 2).

Enhanced Stewardship in Healthcare Facilities: A grant program will be established to help hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare facilities judiciously use antimicrobial drugs (Section 399PP-2(a)(1)).

Prioritization of Underserved Areas: Grant awards will prioritize facilities in rural areas, critical access hospitals, those serving Tribal populations, and safety-net hospitals (Section 399PP-2(a)(2)).

Improved Outpatient Care: A pilot program will provide grants to outpatient entities, such as urgent care settings and retail clinics, to implement antibiotic stewardship programs (Section 399PP-2(b)).

Better Data for Public Health: The Secretary will collect and, starting two years after enactment, make publicly available data regarding antimicrobial resistance and use to improve monitoring of health trends (Section 399PP-2(c)).

Financial Burden of Annual Payments: The bill authorizes annual payments to drug sponsors ranging from $75,000,000 to $300,000,000 per year (Section 399PP(f)(2)(A)).

Potential for Limited Access Based on Clinical Research: The bill states that the Secretary may not use evidence from comparative clinical effectiveness research to treat the lives of elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individuals as having lower value for calculating payments, but acknowledges this as a factor in calculating annual payments (Section 399PP(f)(5)(B)).