Superbug Threat Sparks U.K. to Test New Antibiotic Pay System

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Drug-resistant infections that are spreading around the world have pushed U.K. health officials to test a payment system designed to encourage drugmakers to rekindle programs to develop new antibiotics.

The subscription-style approach will pay companies upfront for access to the anti-infectives, rather than by the number of doses used, the Department of Health and Social Care said Tuesday. The plan is aimed at giving companies with innovative drugs, which are often saved for only the most dire cases, compensation for their development efforts.