[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      NATIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN CONTINUOUS PHARMACEUTICAL 
                       MANUFACTURING ACT OF 2020

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 21, 2020

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4866, the National 
Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Act of 
2019. I'm proud to have advanced this bipartisan bill through my Health 
Subcommittee and I'm pleased to support it on the Floor.
  The National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical 
Manufacturing Act was introduced by Chairman Frank Pallone and 
Representative Brett Guthrie.
  The bill directs FDA to designate National Centers of Excellence in 
Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing which would work with the FDA 
and industry to craft a national framework for continuous manufacturing 
implementation.
  The bill authorizes $80 million to be appropriated from 2021 through 
2025.
  Continuous Manufacturing is an emerging technology that has been 
shown to greatly reduce both the time and the cost of developing and 
manufacturing medicines. It also enables significant improvements in 
the quality of the final product and the reliability of the 
manufacturing process.
  Through H.R. 4866, the Centers of Excellence in continuous 
pharmaceutical manufacturing will organize industry efforts to develop 
continuous manufacturing technologies.
  The Centers could help grow the number of companies capable of using 
these technologies from the current group of approximately ten 
companies to as many as 100 users.
  Our nation's dangerous overreliance on foreign production of critical 
drugs and their ingredients have led to drug shortages, subpar 
manufacturing and drug quality. This threatens patient health and 
safety and poses national security risks to our allied forces.
  The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this vulnerability and 
demonstrates the national security and public health risks inherent in 
allowing China or another foreign nation to gain control of critical 
drug manufacturing.
  This bill is an important first step to bring pharmaceutical 
manufacturing back to the United States, and I urge my colleagues to 
support it.

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