President's budget proposal to include $1.2 billion to fight antibiotic resistance

The president will request $1.2 billion to combat and prevent antibiotic resistance in his fiscal year 2016 budget proposal, the White House announced today. The request includes more than $650 million for the National Institutes of Health and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to invest in antibacterial and rapid diagnostics and launch a large-scale effort to characterize drug resistance. (Earlier this year, NIH-supported scientists developed a novel technique for extracting antibiotics from soil.) Among other funding, the request includes $280 million to support antibiotic stewardship, resistance and outbreak monitoring, and research and development at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; $160 million for the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense to address antibiotic resistance in health care settings; and $47 million for the Food and Drug Administration to evaluate new antibacterial treatments for patients and antibiotic stewardship in animal agriculture. The president is expected to release his full FY 2016 budget request on Monday.