Schumer Bill Will Provide Tax Credit For Research And Development Of Products To Combat Infectious Diseases

Lethal MRSA Infection Continues To Pop Up In Schools Across New York State

November 14, 2007 -- With the drug-resistant MRSA infection continuing to pop up across NYS and the country, today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer introduced a new bill that will offer tax credits to companies researching and developing products to combat infectious diseases. These products include antibiotic and antiviral drugs, diagnostic tests and vaccines that are developed for the purpose of treating, detecting, preventing or identifying qualified infectious diseases, like the potentially lethal staph infection that has been popping up in schools all over the state, killing a young boy in Brooklyn and hospitalizing students across upstate New York.

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“In recent weeks, the tidal wave of MRSA cases has indisputably shown that we must immediately ramp-up our efforts to develop new treatments against staph and other deadly infectious diseases,” said Schumer. “This bill will encourage pharmaceutical companies and scientists to research and develop new drugs so we have the weapons needed to aggressively combat deadly diseases.”

Schumer’s bill creates a new tax credit for medical research related to developing qualified infectious disease products. These products include antibiotic and antiviral drugs, biological products, diagnostic tests and vaccines that are developed for the purpose of treating, detecting, preventing or identifying infectious diseases. The bill allows for a tax credit on an amount equal to 50% of a firm’s research expenses for five years, beginning in 2008, on qualified infectious disease products.

Earlier this month, Schumer fought to include $5 million in emergency funding in the Labor, Health and Human Services FY08 Appropriations Bill, to help the Agency for Health Research Quality (AHRQ) prevent the spread of MRSA. Schumer also cosponsored two bills related to infectious diseases – one that will enhance and coordinate research and best practices for combating these “superbugs” and one that will create a national reporting system for tracking and containing dangerous infections.

MRSA, a deadly strain of drug-resistant staph, was believed to primarily be a concern in health care settings and hospitals until recent reports that students across the country and New York State were infected by the superbug. Schools in every region of the State have reported incidents where students have contracted MRSA.

The bacteria, which generally reside in the nose or on the skin of about a third of the population, can be deadly if allowed to penetrate the skin or enter the blood stream. Schools are particularly prone to outbreaks in gyms or locker rooms, where students share towels, razors or sports equipment.

The news follows a Centers for Disease Control report which found that the bacteria was responsible for approximately 18,650 deaths in the United States in 2005, a much larger number than previously expected.

Source: Senator Charles E. Schumer