Rising drug shortages pose national security threat, Senate panel says

A new Senate report found that drug shortages in the U.S. are increasing in frequency and duration, due to over-reliance on foreign countries like China and India, which is posing national security concerns.

The report from the Democrat-led Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs provided a damning indictment of the U.S. government’s ability to predict drug shortages and address them effectively. It also laid out troubling statistics on the rate of drug shortages.

The report said drug shortages increased by almost 30 percent between 2021 and 2022, with a five-year high of over 295 active drug shortages in place at the end of last year. The report also said the average drug shortage lasts about a year and a half, and that more than 15 “critical” drugs have been in shortage for more than a decade.