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# Experts Urge Federal Action on Supply Chain Resilience
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/experts-urge-federal-action-on-supply-chain-resilience/
- Published: 2025-11-10T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T15:26:07.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5160191

A group of leaders from government, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry is calling for sweeping federal action to stabilize the U.S. drug supply, warning that persistent shortages now pose risks not just to public health but to national security. At a National Academies workshop held last month at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, participants outlined a series of “make, buy, and invest” strategies to strengthen pharmaceutical manufacturing and reduce chronic supply vulnerabilities.

Participants urged the government to rebuild the U.S. drug industrial base through new manufacturing incentives, targeted stockpiles, and “redundant and distributed” production that can withstand shocks such as plant closures, natural disasters, or cyberattacks, according to a [recap of the event](https://washingtondc.jhu.edu/news/4-ways-to-strengthen-the-drug-supply-chain/?ref=fdaweb.com). **Robert Kadlec**, former HHS preparedness chief, compared the approach to Operation Warp Speed: “We enabled the private sector, de-risked it, and got out of the way. We can do the same here.” But domestic manufacturers say slow, unpredictable demand from the U.S. government has left plants running at half capacity. Without guaranteed purchasing or reimbursement reform — particularly at CMS — companies say they can’t scale up.

Experts warned that U.S. purchasing practices — especially in generics — reward the lowest price, often at the expense of quality, creating fragile supply chains over-reliant on a few high-volume manufacturers. FDA inspections still haven’t fully rebounded after the pandemic, speakers said, raising quality concerns for imported medicines. Shifting reimbursement or purchasing policies to reward higher-quality manufacturers could both stabilize supply and reduce foreign dependency.

While China and India dominate production of many active ingredients — and 700 U.S. medications rely on a chemical made only in China — experts said completely decoupling would be unrealistic and potentially counterproductive. Instead, they recommended a quality-based filter for foreign partners, ally-shoring or nearshoring key supply segments, and aligning U.S. trade policy with supply chain resilience goals. Some experts stressed that targeted cooperation with China on drug development could benefit both countries.

Speakers also said no single entity in the federal government is responsible for preventing drug shortages. FDA tracks shortages but lacks authority to collect granular data on capacity or quality risks. Experts recommended that Congress should authorize FDA to gather more detailed supply chain information — such as how much of a drug any one manufacturer produces — and establish clear rules for how that data can be shared. Others argued the Defense Department could take the lead, given its experience in managing critical industrial bases and procurement.