Clothes are labeled. Most food is labeled. Even your car has its manufacturing country of origin stamped onto the door panel. Pharmaceuticals on the other hand, one of the biggest import items and certainly one most critical to our daily health safety and security, usually do not come with any labels at all.
U.S. drugmakers are rapidly shifting the front end of America’s pharmaceutical ecosystem (e.g. discovery, early-stage-development, and the IP engine) to China through a surge of licensing deals and cross-border partnerships.
The Senate Special Committee on Aging was back at it this week discussing the woeful predicament of the domestic generic drug industry and its import-facing supply chain. This time, the Committee heard from four generic drug makers opposed to advocacy groups and Washington think tanks.
Witnesses at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 29 titled “The Future of Biotech” discussed ways to facilitate reshoring and making it attractive to expand in the U.S. and conduct R&D here instead of in China.
America is finally getting serious about its dangerous dependence on foreign-made generic drugs.
CPA Economist Andrew Rechenberg gave his testimony and answered questions in a four- panelist hearing. It was arguably the most agreeable hearing in years. A bipartisan consensus on America’s generic drug supply chain is nearly fully formed now.
Titled “The New Biotech Cold War: The U.S. Medicine Can’t Afford to Fall Behind China,” the report shows how U.S. biotech – long a pillar of national strength – no longer has a guaranteed edge globally.
The Trump administration’s Section 232 investigation into pharmaceutical imports is reportedly close to being final. The final investigation’s success will depend largely on whether or not the Commerce Department determines that there is a crisis in the generics industry — an issue that President Trump highlighted back in 2023.
As proof that no company can match China on price, Chinese producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and the key starting materials (KSMs) used to make them are slashing prices by up to 50%. Not even low-cost India – one of the largest importers of Chinese KSMs – can compete at those levels.
The findings refute claims by the pharmaceutical lobby that tariffs would harm consumers, and instead underscore the urgent need for strong trade measures to reshore U.S. production of essential medicines.
