In a recent Senate hearing titled “Bad Medicine: Closing Loopholes that Kill American Patients”, legislators discussed the urgent need to reform the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain to prevent critical drug shortages and safeguard public health. A strong pharmaceutical supply chain is critical for a strong public health strategy but the top manufacturers for generic drugs consumed by Americans continue to be China and India. Senators heard testimony on how drastically domestic production of medicines has dropped. For example, in 2024 the U.S. manufactured only 37% of its consumed drugs, compared to 2002 when we manufactured about 83%.  

Strengthening the supply chain can be tricky. Policymakers have to balance the goal of increasing domestic production of drugs and active ingredients with preserving Americans’ access to lifesaving drugs. Committee Chairman Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) promoted the Country of Origin Labeling Online Act, a bill that would require country-of-origin labeling for consumer products and the seller’s primary business location on their website. Witnesses urged Senators to strengthen overseas inspections to match domestic standards, require clear country-of-origin labeling and independently validate drug shipments for quality. However, they also emphasized that these measures are only temporary solutions. True progress, according to the expert witnesses, will come from reinvesting in advanced technologies, fast-tracking permits for new manufacturing and recognizing this issue as a matter of national security rather than simply “putting a bandage on it.” 

AHPA extends our gratitude to our emerging colleague, Samantha Fragette, guest author of this article. 
Samantha is an undergraduate student in the University of Central Florida’s
School of Global Health Management and Informatics.