Chairman Rick Scott and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on November 19 to discuss domestic production of essential generic medicines. The hearing, titled “Made in America: Restoring Trust in Our Essential Medicines,” aims to highlight American companies that manufacture key medications within the United States.
The committee intends to focus on how domestic manufacturing can help ensure drug safety, support job creation, and enhance national security. During the session, members and witnesses will address obstacles to bringing pharmaceutical production back to the U.S., such as regulatory challenges, foreign price manipulation, and supply chain transparency concerns. The hearing also seeks to examine ways to reduce dependence on countries like China while encouraging innovation and competition at home.
This event follows previous efforts by the committee leadership to strengthen the nation’s drug supply chain. These efforts include sending letters to major U.S. pharmacies, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., pharmaceutical distributors, and group purchasing organizations. Additionally, an investigative report was released highlighting reliance on foreign-manufactured generics.
Two earlier hearings were held on September 17 and October 8 to review potential risks from foreign dependence in pharmaceuticals and explore measures for increasing domestic manufacturing capacity.
Scheduled witnesses for Wednesday’s hearing are Tom Neely (Chairman of Oxford Pharmaceuticals), Allan Coukell (Chief Government Affairs & Public Policy Officer at CivicaRx), Patrick Cashman (President of USAntibiotics, LLC), and Dr. Eric Edwards (CEO of PHLOW-USA).
The hearing is set for 3:45 PM ET at the Senate Hart Office Building (SH-216) with a live broadcast available online.
