August 4th, 2023 by WCBC Radio

US Senator Ben Cardin has co-introduced the Drug Shortages Prevention and Quality Improvement Act that would empower the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to address prescription drug shortages.  The bill calls for the certain essential drugs to have the longest supported shelf life, require reporting to the FDA on increases in demand for a drug that is likely to lead to a shortage, grant the FDA the ability to assess civil penalties for failing to provide timely notice around a shortage, and establish grants for upgrades to facilities who may not have resources or incentives to modernize, especially for producers of generic sterile injectable drugs.