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How to Address America’s Historic Drug Shortage Crisis
The United States is facing an unprecedented drug shortage, with a record 323 active drug shortages at the start of 2024 — the highest number since 2001.
CPA advocates for domestic manufacturing of essential generic drugs, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other critical health care products because it is vital for our country’s health security and national security.
COVID-19 showed that in a pandemic, the United States cannot depend on other countries for essential medicines and other medical supplies. Many countries banned exports of them to assure they had enough for their own people.
It is a national security imperative that our country is not dependent on unfriendly nations. At the height of the pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party threatened to withhold essential drugs from America. This threat reveals the inclination by some nations to use medicines as an economic and geopolitical weapon. We must have the capability to manufacture medicines and medical supplies necessary for the country’s public health and survival.
The United States is facing an unprecedented drug shortage, with a record 323 active drug shortages at the start of 2024 — the highest number since 2001.
The foreign labs in China and India that make the branded drugs for CVS pharmacies nationwide are coming under increased scrutiny for unsafe manufacturing practices.
When drugs are pulled from pharmacy shelves, it’s somewhat of a well-kept secret that it is the pharmaceutical company that voluntarily warns buyers of the potential harm from the defect.
Generic drug exporter Zydus Lifesciences received poor marks again in April following a Food and Drug Administration inspection of its lab in Vadodara, a city in Gujarat state on India’s western coast.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) banned the use of plastic syringes made in China on April 23 due to safety concerns, ahead of a warning letter dated April 24 to Ohio-based importer Cardinal Health by the Food and Drug Administration.
USTR Katherine Tai sat for a two hours-plus hearing with the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday to discuss trade matters and was met early on by some staunch criticism.