Washington, Dec 18 Warning of the United States’ heavy dependence on foreign-made generic drugs, many sourced from India and China, an influential senator cautioned that American families may be at risk from the medicines in their homes.
The country’s growing reliance on overseas manufacturing of generic drugs and their key ingredients poses serious public health and national security concerns, particularly for seniors and vulnerable populations, said Senate Special Committee on Ageing Chairman Rick Scott on Wednesday (local time).
“Every American relying on foreign-manufactured generic drugs deserves to know the risks in their medicine cabinet,” Scott said, announcing a renewed push by the committee to highlight what he described as systemic weaknesses in the US pharmaceutical supply chain.
Scott has been working alongside the committee’s ranking member, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, through a series of investigations, hearings, and outreach to federal agencies and industry leaders.
According to Scott, roughly 80 per cent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in generic drugs consumed in the United States come from foreign countries. He alleged that many of these products are manufactured “in unsafe, unsanitary conditions in facilities that are far too infrequently inspected,” and said some have been linked to serious health consequences.
“These drugs can pose serious health risks to you, with some instances linked to injury or death,” Scott said, adding that dependence on foreign suppliers also creates a strategic vulnerability.
“America’s reliance on foreign-made generic drugs isn’t just a public health threat; it’s a national security risk because the Chinese Communist Party could cut off the supply at any moment, leaving our seniors, military members, and every American without the medicines they need.”
“While more unannounced inspections are being done, the FDA still conducts far fewer inspections of foreign manufacturers’ facilities than it does in the United States and even grants foreign manufacturers violation waivers to avoid disrupting the supply chain,” he said. “This is a threat to our national security and personal safety that must change now.”
An investigative report released by the committee paints a stark picture of declining domestic production. It found that the United States manufactured 37 per cent of the pharmaceuticals it consumed in 2024, down sharply from 83 per cent in 2002. China alone accounts for 95 per cent of US imports of ibuprofen, 70 per cent of acetaminophen, and more than 45 per cent of penicillin, the report said.
The report also highlighted the global concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredient production. About 90 per cent of APIs used in antibiotics worldwide originate in China, and 83 per cent of the top 100 generic drugs consumed by Americans have no US-based source of APIs.
India figures prominently in the supply chain as well. While Indian manufacturers supply roughly 50 per cent of all generic drugs used in the United States, the report said they rely heavily on China for about 80 per cent of the APIs they use.
A 2025 study cited by the committee found that the occurrence of serious adverse events linked to generic drugs manufactured in India was 54 per cent higher than for equivalent drugs made in the United States. The study defined adverse events as hospitalisation, disability, or death.
Scott said Americans should not have to “roll the dice with the safety, supply, or availability of their medicine,” and called for urgent reforms to restore trust in the pharmaceutical system.
Among the solutions outlined in the committee’s report are establishing a federal buyer’s market for essential medicines that prioritises American-made products, mapping generic drug supply chains, requiring disclosure of country of origin, using trade tools such as Section 232 investigations, closing loopholes that allow foreign products to be labelled as “Made in America,” and expanding support for US biotechnology.
Concerns about pharmaceutical supply chains have intensified in Washington in recent years, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global manufacturing and logistics. Lawmakers from both parties have since raised alarms about overreliance on overseas production for critical medicines.
India and China remain central players in the global generic drug industry, supplying affordable medicines to markets around the world, including the United States.
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