Drug Supply Chain Act Could Cause Spike in Shortages, AAM Says

The Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) says that the “looming” Nov. 27 Drug Supply Chain Security Act deadline requiring interoperable exchange, verification and tracing for all drug products, could cause a spike in drug shortages.

Writing in a recent white paper, “Drug Shortages: Causes & Solutions,” AAM says “it is unknown how many generic manufacturers are prepared for this, but some manufacturers will likely not be fully ready for this deadline.”

Other factors that lead to drug shortages include decline in generic drug price, unchecked consolidation among generic drug buying organizations, increased manufacturing costs and slower adoption of new generics by Medicare.

AAM recommends a drug stockpile and reserve capacity program as well as targeted federal grants or other direct assistance for generic manufacturers with excess manufacturing capacity to reduce drug shortages.

Get a copy of the AAM whitepaper here.

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