RAPID Reserve Act
House Bill Would Pay Drugmakers to Stockpile 6-Month Supply of Critical Medicines
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- HHS would pay selected drugmakers and suppliers to keep a rolling reserve of certain “critical” medicines and their key ingredients.
- Companies in the program would generally keep about a 6-month backup supply, and replace it regularly with newly made product so it doesn’t get too old.
- In a shortage or emergency, HHS could direct companies to ramp up production and could direct where some ingredient supplies go to help other manufacturers.
- The bill aims to reduce the risk of drug shortages caused by problems like too few factories, quality issues, or too much production in one region.
- Congress would allow up to $500 million for 2026 to run the program; HHS would publish the drug list and report to Congress every 2 years.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
4 articlesSenate bill aims to rebuild drug manufacturing infrastructure: 3 notes
Bipartisan senators reintroduced the RAPID Reserve Act to address generic drug shortages by expanding domestic stockpiles and manufacturing capacity. The bill requires HHS to award contracts to U.S. or allied manufacturers to maintain reserves of essential medications and ingredients.
Senators bring back bill to bolster US pharma supply chain by awarding contracts to domestic producers
The Rolling Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient and Drug (RAPID) Reserve Act would require HHS to issue contracts to U.S.-based or OECD-based drugmakers to maintain reserves of critical medications and key ingredients, aiming to reduce overreliance on China and improve preparedness.
Pharmaceutical Blackout: The Hidden Threat to U.S. Security
Authors argue that the RAPID Reserve Act is a 'legislative lifeline' designed to prevent 'pharmacological blackouts' by bringing critical medicine manufacturing back to U.S. shores and building strategic reserves of generic drugs currently dependent on Chinese and Indian supply chains.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
RAPID Reserve Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.