Multiple Senators Propose To Extend Drug Shelf Life To Ease Supply Woes

Senators from Maine and Maryland want the federal government to extend the shelf life of prescription drugs that are in short supply to try to help address shortages.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin introduced the bill, which would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the change. The FDA has said amending expiration dates of some drugs could help alleviate shortages, according to the senators.

The proposal would update FDA guidance about stability testing that is tied to expiration dates, the senators said. It would also require the FDA to submit a report with information about labeling changes about expiration dates that the agency’s secretary requests of manufacturers, they said.

Collins said because of the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the last thing doctors, nurses, and patients should have to worry about is whether there will be an adequate supply of the medications they need.”