Kaine & Cotton Introduce Legislation to Help Address Drug Shortages and Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Protecting Our Essential Medicines Act, bipartisan legislation to help address drug shortages and vulnerabilities in the prescription drug supply chain by requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to maintain a list of the country of origin of certain critical drugs marketed in the United States.

"While we've taken steps in recent years to increase domestic manufacturing of prescription drugs-including in Petersburg, Virginia-we need to do more. I'm glad to join Senator Cotton in introducing this legislation to help address drug shortages and decrease our reliance on pharmaceutical products manufactured in other countries," said Kaine.

"Americans deserve to know where their life-saving medicines come from. This legislation requires greater transparency in the sourcing of critical drugs, helping to protect patients and strengthen trust in our healthcare system," said Cotton.

The Protecting Our Essential Medicines Act would:

• Direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an interagency task force in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to identify:
• • Drugs that are critical to the health and safety of U.S. consumers;
  • Drugs for which a shortage would have adverse health outcomes on patients with chronic conditions; and
  • Countermeasures classified as qualified pandemic or epidemic products.
• Direct the task force to create a public list, which would describe the top three countries from which the U.S. imports each drug, and a confidential list, which would include information regarding drugs or pharmaceutical ingredients that are produced in countries designated as a foreign entity of concern, including China.

As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Kaine has long committed to mitigating drug shortages and increasing the accessibility of critical drugs. Last month, Kaine and Cotton introduced the End Drug Shortages Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to help reduce the prevalence and severity of drug shortages. During his tenure, Kaine has strongly supported the Virginia Advanced Pharma Manufacturing (APM) Cluster, a consortium in the Richmond/Petersburg area led by the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority that helps ensure critical drugs are manufactured here in America. Kaine helped form and grow the Authority while he was on Richmond City Council, served on the Authority's board as Richmond's mayor, and appointed its board members as governor. In October 2023, Kaine announced that the APM Cluster received a Tech Hub designation, which was made possible by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act Kaine helped pass. In September 2022, Kaine announced $52.9 million in federal funding for the cluster from the American Rescue Plan, which he voted to pass. In September, Kaine visited Phlow Pharmaceutical Corp. in Petersburg following his bipartisan push for increased federal funding to create high-paying jobs and increase onshore manufacturing of critical drugs.

Full text of the Protecting Our Essential Medicines Actis available here.

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