Congresswoman Pushes PILLS Act to Boost Generic Drug Production:

On February 20, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney reintroduced an act seeking to encourage and restore domestic production of generic medicines. In doing so, Tenney referred to the centralized production of the pharmaceutical industry in India and China as “potential supply chain disturbances.”

The PILLS Act, or Producing Incentives for Long-term Production of Lifesaving Supply of Medicines Act, attempts to attract pharma companies by offering them tax incentives for shifting “all aspects of the manufacturing process" of generic medications to the United States, including materials, production, and even testing.

The attempt is perceived as a possible threat to existing generic drug manufacturing leaders in India, including Aurobindo Pharma, Lupin, and Zydus.

The Act attempts to simultaneously “restore” American pharmaceutical production while also creating jobs and securing the country’'s needs.

As has been noted, “Drug manufacturing has moved overseas, putting American jobs, and the security of our essential medical supply chains at risk. To address this issue, I reintroduced the PILLS Act, which seeks to incentivize businesses to produce important generic drugs and antibiotics within the US. By increasing the domestic tax incentives for drug production, this legislation will help avoid alarming issues with the supply chain, strengthen our pharmaceutical security, and provide American employment opportunities,” Cngresswoman Tenney said.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) has classified the crisis as relating to the outsourcing of various medicines which is cost-efficient to speak, but lacks depth in the bigger economic picture. This concern stems from the fact that over 90% of prescription drugs in the United States are generic manufactured.

According to Tenney, “Imports from india rose 35 times these past decades while imports from china soar at 165 times”, said Coalition for a Prosperous America. Medicines appear vague in quality, form, and cost. Furthermore, the promise of lower medicine costs results in over 91% of prescriptions being classified as generic.

Claiming, “The PILLS Act will generate an influx of job opportunities”, David Sanders, the Founder and Board Member and Vice president of Coherus BioSciences, stated, “It also reduces America’s over dependence on drug import and increases access to essential medicine.” While pharmacies lowered the prices of most drugs, the expenses of US phytopharmaceutical imports in 2023 have exceeded $208 billion, 91% consisting of generic drugs.

Ever since President Trump announced that he will be imposing reciprocal tariffs on Indian pharma exports, equating to nearly $8 billion for Indian exports, India’s domestic pharma industry has been watching the US administration’s moves with caution. All in all, Indian pharmaceutical exports have a set target of $29 billion for the rest of the fiscal.