Jim Matheson: “The bill before us today has two main components. We talk about the drug compounding issue and also the issue of the…”

“The bill before us today has two main components. We talk about the drug compounding issue and also the issue of the drug supply chain, how we can track medications through the pharmaceutical supply chain to make sure that the materials are safe and have not been subject to counterfeit medications entering that supply chain. I would like to speak primarily about the supply chain component of the bill. That component of the bill is a product of several years of work and collaboration between a number of Members on both sides of the aisle, working with, beyond Members, a lot of stakeholders--the pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders, the Food and Drug Administration, and others. And this act, in part, is going to provide immediate steps to help strengthen our drug supply chain from counterfeiters and other bad actors. It also establishes a clear and defined path toward full electronic product-level traceability. You know, we've seen this in recent press reports. Counterfeit meds can slip into our drug supply, and it's so tempting to the counterfeiters. When you think of last year alone, the prescription drug market in the United States, Americans spent $325 billion on prescription meds. So this is a lucrative market, and it's very tempting for counterfeiters. And that's why it's so important we ensure the integrity of the drug supply chain, and this bill is going to work to do just that.…”