Rep. Gene Green's GAIN Act passed by House of Representatives

The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly supported the Food and Drug Administration Reform Act by passing the bill.

Part of the bill is the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now Act. This bipartisan bill was introduced by Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga, and Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas. It received support from both sides of the aisle.

The GAIN Act addresses the looming issue of drug resistant bacterial infections. It allows the FDA to develop a new generation of antibiotics to keep consumers safe in the event of a superbug hitting populations.

"As a physician for more than 30 years, I understand firsthand the urgent need for innovative, lifesaving medical treatments," said Gingrey in a press release. "Unfortunately, the number of new drugs approved by the FDA has diminished significantly over the past two decades. If we are to prevent a future public health crisis, we must streamline the FDA regulatory process and ensure the further development of new antibiotics to treat dangerous superbugs."

"There are already instances of death and serious complications in our country due to drug-resistant pathogens," said Green. "We cannot allow a reversion to the way things were before penicillin, when scraped knees and minor injuries were life threatening and difficult to treat.  Without our bill, the drug companies will simply not develop these drugs, and we will continue to be exposed to the risk of a large-scale public health crisis, which experts believe is likely within the next 10 years."

The GAIN Act provisions represent a bipartisan balance that protects patient safety while responsibly offering incentives to drug companies seeking cures to bacterial pathogens the industry is currently ill equipped to treat, according to the press release. The GAIN Act is supported by the public health community and the pharmaceutical industry.