Where Do All of Our Prescription Drugs Come From?

A U.S. Senate panel this week will take a close look at security of our pharmaceutical supply chains.

For years the Alliance for American Manufacturing has advocated for a strong domestic pharmaceutical supply chain. Now, with the Senate Special Committee on Aging preparing to hold a hearing titled “Truth in Labeling: Americans Deserve to Know Where Their Drugs Come From,” lawmakers have an opportunity to explore this issue head‑on.

The senators already know this but, for the rest of us, the state of play is a little worrying. That’s because the United States does not control the supply chains for the medicines Americans rely on every day. China is the world’s leading producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which are the core components of our medicines. India, meanwhile, is the world’s leading producer of finished generic drugs, and relies on China for the APIs that go into them. This means the majority of drugs taken by American seniors — who fill roughly 90% of their prescriptions with generics — ultimately rely on supply chains anchored in China.

There are consequences to that. Past contamination scandals involving imported generics have harmed and even killed American patients. What’s more, overreliance on such a critical supply chain could leave the United States vulnerable. China has already shown willingness to restrict important industrial materials like rare earth elements, the production of which it dominates. It’s not far fetched to imagine it might do the same with pharmaceuticals; it tied support for its foreign policy goals to the vaccine and PPE assistance it gave to other nations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Industrial resilience is important, not only for the economy but for national security as well. And that’s why it’s so important that we make sure there is a supply chain for and production of pharmaceutical drugs in this country. The Biden administration studied the issue of pharmaceutical production in the wake of pandemic shortages. President Trump last year issued issued an executive order directing several federal agencies to prioritize the purchase of American-made pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The order also calls for the development of strategies to enhance the domestic production capabilities of essential medicines and their APIs. The federal government has also backed important efforts like the Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub, a Virginia-based consortium whose work is meant to grow the footprint of this sector in the United States.

We hope the upcoming Senate hearing delves into these resiliency efforts and others. We’ll be watching when it kicks off this week; you can view it here.