U.S. Forms Trans-Atlantic Partnership In Effort To Stem Tide Of Superbugs

The Washington Post: Major Global Partnership To Speed Antibiotic Development Launched
U.S. and British officials announced an ambitious collaboration Thursday designed to accelerate the discovery and development of new antibiotics in the fight against one of the modern era’s greatest health threats: antibiotic resistance. CARB-X, for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, will create one of the world’s largest public-private partnerships focused on preclinical discovery and development of new antimicrobial products. (Sun, 7/28)

In other national health care news —

Modern Healthcare: A Bipartisan Bill Might Alter Deductibles For Chronic-Disease Care. Really
People in diverse corners of healthcare are hopeful new legislation will ease growing consumer anxiety over higher medical deductibles. And it might have a chance of becoming law because the cause comes from rare bipartisan ground. Earlier this month, U.S. Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)—both of whom sit on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health—introduced a bill that would change how the federal tax code treats high-deductible health plans that are paired with tax-exempt health savings accounts. (Herman, 7/28)

Stat: Poison Control Centers Are Getting A Surge Of Calls About ‘Natural’ Painkiller Kratom
The herbal supplement seemed like a miracle. Trying to kick an opioid addiction, the middle-aged man found he could soothe his cravings with a tea made from an Asian plant called kratom. It relieved his pain and made him more alert. But when he combined it with a stimulant, it also gave him a seizure that landed him in a Boston-area emergency room. Those kinds of stories are on the rise, according to a study published Thursday in a weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of calls to poison centers about problems stemming from kratom ingestion have increased tenfold over five years, from 26 in 2010 to 263 in 2015. (Boodman, 7/28)

The Washington Post: Studying Heart Disease In Astronauts Yields Clues But Not Conclusive Evidence
When James Irwin suffered his first heart attack at age 43 — just two years after walking on the moon — NASA doctors dismissed any connection with his trip to space, during which he had experienced short spells of irregular heart rhythm. "They noted that pre-flight testing had shown Mr. Irwin to be prone to slight uneven heartbeats on occasion after exercise," according to the New York Times. But then Irwin died of a heart attack in 1991, when he was just 61. A year earlier, fellow Apollo astronaut Ron Evans died of a heart attack in his sleep at age 56. And Neil Armstrong died after complications from cardiovascular surgery in 2012. He was 82. (Kaplan, 7/28)

NPR: Gun Violence And Mental Health Laws, 50 Years After Texas Tower Sniper
For some people, the attack on police officers by a gunman in Dallas this summer brought to mind another attack by a sniper in Austin 50 years ago – on Aug. 1, 1966. That's when student Charles Whitman stuck his rifle over the edge of the clock tower at the University of Texas at Austin and started shooting. Ultimately, he killed 16 people — and wounded more than 30 others. For decades, people have struggled to figure out why. There have been theories about abuse, a brain tumor and, of course, mental illness. (Silverman, 7/29)