HHS must prepare a reserve of ingredients for critical medicines

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response must identify about 26 critical drugs, ready the existing reserve, and obtain a six-month supply of needed active ingredients. The reserve covers active pharmaceutical ingredients used to make the identified critical drugs. The agency must identify available funds and use them only as allowed by law. The agency should prefer ingredients made in the United States when possible. Obtaining and storing the ingredients depends on the availability of identified funds. The drug list and funding report are due within 30 days of August 13, 2025. The existing reserve must be ready within 120 days, and the ingredients must be placed there within 30 days after the agency certifies that it is ready.

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response must update the essential-medicines list and submit a supply plan. The plan covers medicines and medical countermeasures on the updated list that are not already included among the approximately 26 critical drugs. The plan must address obtaining ingredients from domestic manufacturers where possible, storing them, and maintaining a six-month supply. The order directs planning and proposals; it does not itself establish funding for these activities. The updated list and plan are due within 90 days of August 13, 2025.

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response must propose opening a second reserve repository and estimate its cost. The proposed repository would be located in the United States and would support the broader ingredient-reserve plan. The order requires a proposal and estimate, not the opening or funding of a second repository. Any action remains subject to applicable law and available appropriations. The proposal must address opening the second repository within one year of August 13, 2025.