Republican policymakers have unveiled a draft bill to rein in drug shortages nationwide — shortly after they blocked a Democratic push in Congress to enact a similar provision in the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA).

Dubbed the Stop Drugs Shortages Act, the proposed GOP legislation aims to address drug shortages by boosting transparency among drug middlemen and requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to report on active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) metrics for generic drugs.

In a statement, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers,(R-Wash.), noted that the bill would also give drug manufacturers more “market flexibility” to adjust prices to their liking.

“The discussion draft will give manufacturers of generic, sterile injectable drugs for serious diseases, such as cancer treatments, more flexibility to respond to market pressures, so they can invest in manufacturing and ramp up production when potential shortage situations arise,” the statement read.

In particular, Rodgers blamed the 340B Drug Pricing Program — which requires that drug companies participating in Medicaid provide reduced prices for outpatient prescription drugs — for contributing to the drug shortage. 

The bill would allow exemptions for drug manufacturers who make generics and low-cost drugs for serious diseases, to avoid reducing their prices further.

“Imposing restrictions in Medicaid and the 340B Program that hold the cost of these drugs at artificially low levels undermines the economic stability of these supply chains, driving many of these drugs into shortages,” Rodgers’ statement argued.

The current list of drugs in shortage in the FDA’s database notably includes semaglutide, an active ingredient in popular diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

The weight loss drugs are just a few in the list of hundreds of drugs currently in shortage, ranging from cancer drugs to antibiotics and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs. 

Recently, Pfizer reported that it expects to run out of some of its penicillin products by the end of this year as well.

Factors driving the shortages are varied, but they include supply chain issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a backlog of FDA drug manufacturing inspections. 

However, experts have noted that the problem is also mainly the result of a shaky generic drug industry, with U.S.-based manufacturers preferring to develop higher-cost drugs instead.

The Republican proposal also comes just a few weeks after the conference blocked five provisions that Democrats crafted separately to address the drug shortage issue, as the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up 17 health bills.

In a statement, House Democrats criticized the move, arguing that the reauthorization of PAHPA would have been a good opportunity to pass their bills on the drug shortage crisis.

“I have to admit I’m disappointed and perplexed why we are not using this opportunity to strengthen our pharmaceutical supply chain and address the drug shortage crisis head-on,” Rep. Debbie Dingell, (D-Mich.), said in a statement.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee opened the Stop Drugs Shortages Act draft bill for feedback through August 25.