Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Representatives Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN-08) and Doris Matsui (D-CA-07) introduced the Mapping America’s Pharmaceutical Supply (MAPS) Act, a bill to help the federal government prepare for and mitigate future drug shortages by identifying pharmaceutical supply chain vulnerabilities. The MAPS Act would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to update its Essential Medicines List and create a database mapping the pharmaceutical supply chain. The database would include the country of origin, quantity manufactured and other key information about critical drug products to identify supply chain weaknesses that could lead to shortages or other challenges in a future public health emergency. HHS could then use this information to predict future supply interruptions, helping to combat drug shortages and increase resiliency and readiness.

“In a world of increasing uncertainties, America’s dependence on foreign nations for critical drugs and their key ingredients poses a grave national security threat,” said Dr. Bucshon. “The Mapping America’s Pharmaceutical Supply (MAPS) Act allows the United States to take control of our pharmaceutical supply chain, while recognizing the importance of collaboration between the government and private sector. I am proud to join Representative Doris Matsui in the bipartisan introduction of this legislation as a crucial first step to enhance America’s public health resilience.”

“Recent drug shortages across the nation have made it acutely clear that we need to improve our ability to anticipate, identify, and respond to cracks in the system,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “The lack of end-to-end visibility into every step of our pharmaceutical supply chain means we don’t know the extent of our reliance on foreign agents for key drug ingredients, or how a natural disaster would impact the drug supply. The MAPS Act is a crucial step to provide us with a comprehensive roadmap. By increasing transparency, we can bolster the weaknesses in our supply chain and prevent future public health emergencies.”  

According to the Association of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), ongoing and active drug shortages are the highest they have been in a decade, with 305 drugs in shortage in the third quarter of 2023. Despite progress from the FDA in preventing and mitigating drug shortages, these efforts are largely reactive. Shortage prevention efforts could be more effective if they were proactive and targeted to the most vulnerable and essential drugs.  

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) – the key ingredients that give a drug their intended effect – are largely manufactured overseas in China or India. The MAPS Act would establish a federal database to map the origin of each drug, the location of the facilities used to manufacture them, and associated inspections and risks, such as recalls and import alerts.

Endorsing organizations include: American Hospital Association (AHA), California Hospital Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), CivicaRx, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO).

“The American Hospital Association appreciates the efforts of Representatives Matsui and Bucshon to address the chronic and increasing drug shortages hospitals, health systems and patients are facing across the country,” said Lisa Kidder Hrobsky, Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Political Affairs, American Hospital Association. “The AHA is proud to offer our strong support to this important bipartisan legislation that will strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain for health care providers and patients and improve access to high-quality care.”

“ASHP strongly supports the MAPS Act. By requiring the Department of Health and Human services to coordinate with other agencies and the private sector to map the pharmaceutical supply chain, threats to the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain can be identified and addressed before they place patients at risk,” said Tom Kraus, Vice President of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists government relations.

“To date, efforts to map the pharmaceutical supply chain have fallen short, resulting in harm to patients who cannot receive needed treatments that are in shortage. The MAPS Act would provide the necessary tools to enhance visibility for critical drugs,” said Everett E. Vokes, MD, FASCO, Board Chair of the American Society for Clinical Oncology. “We applaud Congresswoman Matsui and Congressman Bucshon for their dedication to improving access to life-saving cancer drugs.”

Full text of the bill is available HERE.

Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. represents Indiana’s 8^th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives and is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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