Payam Javan: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at strengthening the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain by rapidly replenishing the Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve (SAPIR). The order prioritizes American-made ingredients and directs the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to identify about 26 critical drugs within 30 days, prepare SAPIR to receive them within 120 days, and secure a six-month supply of these essential materials. A proposal to open a second reserve site within a year is also part of the plan.

The order comes amid concerns over America’s heavy dependence on foreign sources for drug components, particularly China, which supplies an estimated 95% of the core ingredients for generic drugs. The global supply chain often begins with key starting materials (KSMs) made in China, processed into active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in countries such as India, and then manufactured into finished drugs sold in the United States. Trump criticized the Biden administration for leaving SAPIR “nearly empty” and stressed that stockpiling APIs, which are cheaper and have longer shelf lives than finished drugs, is critical to national security.