How CMS plans to retool payments for antibiotics
CMS updated its payment system last week to make it easier for antibiotic companies to turn a profit, but the changes improve an already-established pathway rather than implementing an innovative subscription-based model as called for by former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and being evaluated by the U.K.
In a blog post Friday, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said that misaligned incentives have discouraged R&D in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), despite attempts to encourage investment and innovation in the space through federal funding via the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), as well as regulatory reforms such as the Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Drugs (LPAD)...