In his continued effort to combat U.S. dependency on foreign-made generic drugs, Florida Congressman Rick Scott (R) announced his Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act during a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing.
During the hearing, titled “Truth in Labeling: Americans Deserve to Know Where Their Drugs Come From,” Sen. Scott pushed for country of origin labeling requirements to be included in the U.S. prescription drug supply chain.
According to Scott, many prescription drugs are manufactured overseas, particularly in countries such as China and India. Current federal labeling requirements do not require public disclosure of where those drugs are manufactured, and as a result, patients, pharmacists, and healthcare providers lack visibility into where their medicines are made.
“Families want to feel safe; they want to know the drugs they take are safe, and they want to support American companies and American jobs," Scott said in a press release. "It is alarming just how many medicines Americans depend on are made overseas, in places like Communist China and India, with limited transparency and oversight, leaving patients blindsided about where their drugs come from and unknowingly putting themselves at increased risk of death.”
The Florida Senator has previously made light of the foreign-made drug situation in multiple Senate Aging Committee hearings, bringing in medical officials to discuss the need for more U.S. generic drug production and transparency on foreign-made generic drugs.
“A study from one of our witnesses, Mr. Tony Sardella, found that 83% of the top 100 generic drugs consumed by U.S. citizens have no U.S.-based source of active drug Ingredients, and another 11% have only one domestic source of active drug ingredients,” he stated. “This is a national security and a public health issue for seniors and all Americans.”
Scott calls his CLEAR LABELS Act a “commonsense” approach to clear any discourse regarding the original manufacturers of these drugs and their components.
“Transparency is critical to protecting patient safety, strengthening oversight, and reducing America’s over reliance on foreign drug production. Americans deserve to have confidence that the medicines they take are safe, regulated, and clearly labeled,” Scott concluded.
