Drug manufacturers and other trade industry experts have warned that the new proposal could actually raise drug prices. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Reining in the high cost of prescription drugs has been a major aim of the Trump administration, marked most notably by the president's 2018 "Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices" directive. Since then, the administration has rolled out numerous orders and regulations aimed at bringing reform to the pharmaceutical industry–only to be met with resistance at nearly every turn.
Though many of those initiatives have been slow to get started or stalled by legal challenges, a new executive order from President Trump requiring the government to buy certain drugs from American factories could have some teeth. As reported by Stat News, as much as 90% of the country's supply of generic drugs is manufactured abroad.
The order, signed Thursday, instructs the FDA to implement the new directive but allows certain drugs to be exempted if making them on U.S. soil proves cost-prohibitive. In addition, the order directs HHS to speed up FDA approval for U.S. drugs and prioritizes government contracts with domestic drug manufacturers.
Drug manufacturers and other trade industry experts have warned that the new proposal could actually raise drug prices, though White House trade advisor Peter Navarro was quick to point out the benefits of having more control over the drug supply chain.
"If we learned anything from the [coronavirus] pandemic, it is simply that we are dangerously overdependent on foreign nations for our essential medicines, for medical supplies — like masks, gloves, goggles and the like — and medical equipment, like ventilators," he said.
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