Short on Competition Act

This bill would require the FDA to temporarily allow certain prescription drugs to be imported from approved foreign countries when those drugs are in shortage in the United States or when very few companies sell them here. The imported drugs must be lifesaving, life-sustaining, or used to treat serious conditions, and they must contain the same active ingredient as the drug that is in short supply. The permission to import would last up to three years or until the shortage ends, and the FDA could still block any drug it considers unsafe or ineffective. The bill also says that drugs with fewer than five competing versions on the market, that have been approved for at least 10 years, and whose key patents have expired should be treated as if they are in shortage for the purposes of this process.

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