House seal

Hearing: From the Science Lab to the Medicine Cabinet: How China is Cornering the Market on Our

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Key Takeaways

Summary not yet available for this hearing.

Hearing Details

Witnesses

Members Who Spoke

Top 5 Organizations Mentioned

View on Congress.gov

Read the full transcript

Starting at $350/mo

  • Full hearing transcripts
  • Speaker timestamps with video verification
  • Organization & competitor mentions
  • Same-day delivery
  • Personalized summaries
Start reading

30-day money-back guarantee on all paid plans.

Transcript

Cashman (Witness)

Chairman Moolenaar, Ranking Member Khanna, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for convening this hearing. My name is Patrick Cashman and I serve as President of USAntibiotics, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee. We are the last domestic manufacturer of amoxicillin, the most prescribed antibiotic in the United States. We formulate, fill, and finish the drug entirely in America, and we have never purchased our active pharmaceutical ingredients from China. The amoxicillin supply chain has three layers: key starting materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and finished dosage forms. China dominates the foundational layers. In October 2025, U.S. Pharmacopeia analysis found China is the sole supplier of at least one key starting material for 37 percent of all U.S. approved medicines. India, often seen as an alternative, relies on China for about 90 percent of its amoxicillin precursor chemistry. The apparent diversity on pharmacy shelves is largely an illusion. One in three U.S. hospitals experienced severe effects from the 2022-2023 amoxicillin shortage, which resulted from routine supply chain fragility, not foreign interference. A geopolitically motivated restriction, as seen recently with critical minerals, would be faster and more severe. The quality gap increases the security risk. A 2025 study from Indiana University and Ohio State University found serious adverse events, including hospitalization, disability, and death, were 54 percent higher for generic drugs made in India than those made in the United States. Domestic facilities received unannounced inspections, while foreign facilities have historically received up to 12 weeks notice, allowing time to conceal issues. A 2023 Pentagon review found the API country of origin was unknown for 22 percent of drugs for service members. We cannot protect a supply chain we cannot see. Our facility has supplied amoxicillin to American patients for over 40 years. Until 2008, every U.S. amoxicillin prescription was filled from our Bristol plant. A decade of subsidized foreign competition eliminated our market share and forced our previous owners into bankruptcy. In 2021, Jackson Healthcare acquired us as a national security commitment, not a business investment. Our parent company has invested tens of millions of private dollars to restore domestic production while absorbing losses. We compete with foreign manufacturers who benefit from state subsidies, lax oversight, and prices that sometimes fall below our raw material costs. We accept these disadvantages because the alternative poses a national security risk. However, our ability to overcome these challenges is not unlimited. If we close permanently, rebuilding from scratch would take a decade, assuming capital, regulatory approval, and a skilled workforce are available. None of these are guaranteed. This committee can take specific actions to help preserve U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. First, define domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing as the process of formulating, filling, and finishing drugs from API so that the federal procurement preferences reward companies that actually manufacture, make medicine in America. Second, direct Strategic National Stockpile to prioritize domestic manufacturing through multi-year purchasing agreements. Third, signal bipartisan support for the ongoing Section 232 investigations into pharmaceutical imports and urge prominent treatment for the upstream supply chain, the KSMs and the APIs, where China's chokehold is the tightest and the consequences of disruption are the most immediate. America's most prescribed antibiotic can be made in entirely in the United States, and for more than 40 years it was. We have the facility, the expertise, and the production capacity to do it again. My colleagues and I are looking for this committee to help create a policy framework that treats domestic production of critical medicines as the national security priority it is. Thank you, and I welcome your questions.

Read the full transcript

Starting at $350/mo

  • Full hearing transcripts
  • Speaker timestamps with video verification
  • Organization & competitor mentions
  • Same-day delivery
  • Personalized summaries
Start reading

30-day money-back guarantee on all paid plans.

Not ready to subscribe?

Get a free daily digest with hearing summaries ranked by relevance.

Already have an account? Log in