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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mark Cohen |
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Cohen bill would authorize $5 million to find cure for MRSA ‘superbug’
HARRISBURG, Nov. 1 – Responding to the increase in new cases of the drug-resistant “superbug” known as MRSA, state Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila., has introduced a plan to help Pennsylvania nonprofit research institutions look for a cure to the superbug.
Cohen’s legislation (H.B. 2000) would allow the secretary of the state Department of Health to competitively award a $5 million grant to a nonprofit research institution in Pennsylvania to dedicate to “superbug” antibiotic research and development.
Researchers reported Oct. 17 that MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, has migrated from hospitals and now kills more Americans than AIDS. The study by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2005, MRSA infections made an estimated 94,000 Americans seriously ill and killed almost 19,000, compared with 17,000 who died of AIDS. The study also reported that nearly 14 percent of the new infections are not linked to hospitals or other medical facilities.
“Pharmaceutical companies have been slow to look for a cure to this increasingly dangerous infection,” Cohen said. “I believe the public sector will most likely be responsible for finding the cure, and I think state government can share in that search and success.”
Cohen noted that there is a bipartisan bill before the U.S. Congress that would subsidize antibiotic research and development for a cure to the superbug.
“This infection is disproportionately affecting people with weakened immune systems like the young and the elderly and has the capability of killing thousands,” Cohen said. “We need to act quickly.”
Cohen’s bill will likely be referred to the Health and Human Services Committee for consideration.
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CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman |