President Requires Government to Only Buy US-Made Essential Drugs

President Trump recently signed an executive order to increase production of essential medical supplies in the US and cut down reliance on foreign producers.

The executive order signed Thursday directs FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to create a list of medicines, medical countermeasures, and critical inputs that are essential for public health in America.

The order will also support American jobs by enhancing the domestic manufacturing of essential medicines, medical countermeasures, and critical inputs, and ensure long-term demand for those products as well, the President stated.

Trump also asked agencies to prioritize permitting and approvals for domestic manufacturers to safeguard the US from potential drug supply shortages. 

The order will ensure that the US does not depend on foreign countries for items that are critical to our Nation’s health and national security, as it leaves Americans “incredibly vulnerable,” the President explained.

“We must never be reliant on a foreign nation for America’s medical or other needs,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump’s overall main objective is to make the US the world’s premier producer of medical supplies.

 Under the order, the Trump administration will support a deal to transform Kodak into a pharmaceutical company that can help produce essential medicines in the US.

The Administration has also taken more than 30 actions under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to provide billions of dollars in critical support for the essential medical resources and defense industrial base.

The DPA allows mobilization in the private sector and increases production of ventilators, swabs, masks, and other critically-needed medical supplies. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a limit in critically-needed medical supplies put both frontline workers and their families at risk, so the order to increase production of needed supplies is essential, according to the White House

The executive order builds on the President’s efforts, including Operation Warp Speed.

Under Operation Warp Speed, the Administration is working with the private sector and scientific community to quickly deliver safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics to individuals in the US in record time. 

HHS Secretary Alex Azar said that the portfolio of vaccines that the partnership has created may bring Americans at least one safe and effective vaccine by the end of 2020.

Pharmaceutical stakeholders questioned the executive order’s ability to improve drug development and manufacturing in the US.

“At a time when our nation’s priority should be to beat COVID-19, President Trump today signed yet another executive order that creates even more barriers to ongoing biopharmaceutical manufacturing and innovation,” Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), said in a statement.

“Companies are working around the clock to research and develop treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19. At the same time, they are working to ensure they have the capacity to manufacture the treatments and vaccines once approved so that every patient that needs them has access to them. These efforts are all hands on deck for the biopharmaceutical industry but each executive order issued by the administration adds another roadblock, making it harder to fight this pandemic,” Ubl added.

Meanwhile, healthcare improvement company and group purchasing organization Premier voiced support for the executive order.

“For more than a decade Premier has been using the aggregated purchasing of our thousands of American hospitals and other providers to diversify and domesticate critical medical product and drug manufacturing.  Michael J. Alkire, president of Premier said in an emailed statement. “These actions have enabled our healthcare provider members to have differentiated and reliable access to more than 150 shortage drugs and other supplies, even during the pandemic.”

“We are pleased that the Executive Order balances the need for domestic manufacturing with the need to maintain the affordability of these products. We encourage Congress to take steps to provide tax and other incentives to help reduce manufacturing costs.”