The vision goes like this: drug manufacturers will build more resilient supply chains and prevent drug shortages by restoring US-based manufacturing, and they will do it by adopting advanced technologies that enable them to achieve higher quality while competing on price against India and China despite higher wages and greater environmental and worker protections in the US.
Why Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Haven’t Prevented Drug Shortages – And How They Could
A decade later, another MIT retreat explores factors behind slow adoption of technologies touted in the first – and how the barriers could be overcome to deliver higher-quality, more shortage-proof generic drugs.

More from Generics
Amid ongoing generic drug supply problems, Japan's government is to set up a new fund to support corporate investments geared towards manufacturing and consolidation.
Optum Rx, one of the largest PBMs in the US, declared it was the “first comprehensive, transparent pharmacy services company” after announcing several consumer-friendly changes.
Teva was forced to delist its ProAir HFA inhaler patents from the FDA’s Orange Book by mid-March after the Federal Circuit denied its petition for en banc rehearing. Will the Supreme Court listen?
Multiple sources, including former Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, told the Pink Sheet that industry is quietly complaining about FDA work delays and they expect the problem will worsen.
More from Biosimilars & Generics
The FDA’s accelerated approval draft guidance has left stakeholders seeking clarification of the process for determining a surrogate marker or intermediate clinical endpoint is reasonably likely to confirm clinical benefit.
The UK branded drug industry is calling for adjustments to be made to the UK voluntary scheme framework for branded medicines, after the payment rate increased to 22.9% for 2025. Meanwhile, the generics industry says the scheme is functioning “as intended” and opposes any changes.
Teva was forced to delist its ProAir HFA inhaler patents from the FDA’s Orange Book by mid-March after the Federal Circuit denied its petition for en banc rehearing. Will the Supreme Court listen?