Source : Procurement Leaders
Moves to improve the oversight of US drug supply chains has been welcomed by industry groups.
Allan Coukell, director of medical programmes at the Pew Health Group, said that the introduction of a bipartisan discussion draft on US drug safety would bring the county one step closer to closing gaps in oversight of the US pharmaceutical supply.
The comments come after republican and democrat senators Tom Harkin, Michael Enzi, Charles Grassley, Richard Burr, Michael Bennet and Sheldon Whitehouse began collaborating to protect patients from risks associated with an ever more complex pharmaceutical production process.
Coukell pointed out that, until recently, medicines were routinely made entirely in the United States. Today, however, Pew estimates that 80% of the active ingredients in US drugs are made abroad - leading to increasing problems monitoring supply chains.
“Most of our medicines travel a winding path that passes through raw material suppliers, active-ingredient manufacturers, consolidators, brokers, wholesalers, and intermediates before arriving at pharmacies,” Coukell said.
"Under this legislation, Congress would institute reforms that improve the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of overseas manufacturing and hold the industry accountable for the security and safety of an increasingly globalised and outsourced pharmaceutical supply chain. We look forward to working with lawmakers to further strengthen this drug safety proposal."