Last U.S. amoxicillin maker urges long‑term federal contracts to secure supply

Patrick Cashman, president of US Antibiotics, told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health that his Bristol, Tennessee facility is the last end‑to‑end U.S. maker of amoxicillin and urged federal policy changes to keep that capacity operating.

Cashman said US Antibiotics supplies a product that accounts for roughly 50 million U.S. prescriptions annually and that the company now has about a 5% market share after investors reactivated production. He warned that if the plant were to close permanently it would take “no less than 5 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to construct a new facility capable of producing amoxicillin.”

Why it matters: witnesses and members described amoxicillin as a common but strategically important generic antibiotic; concentrated foreign production of APIs and key starting materials creates a national security and clinical risk if the remaining domestic supplier goes offline.

Key points from Cashman’s testimony and committee questions: - “Approximately 45% of the global amoxicillin API production capacity is concentrated in China,” Cashman said, and he added that China supplies a significant share of the key starting materials Indian manufacturers use. - He listed three market challenges for domestic generic manufacturers: (1) unfair foreign subsidies and regulatory differences; (2) lack of long‑term government purchasing commitments that would create stable demand; and (3) lack of recognition of generics as strategic assets that qualify for industrial supports available in other sectors. - Cashman proposed four policy responses: incentivize multiyear federal purchase agreements; implement Buy‑American preference for antibiotics bought with federal funds when a U.S. manufacturer exists; create a strategic antibiotic manufacturing fund (grants, low‑interest loans and tax incentives); and enforce trade rules against predatory pricing (including use of a Section 232 investigation).

On timing and capacity, Cashman said US Antibiotics operates multiple production lines and could expand production materially within about 18–24 months by adding shifts and restarting idle lines; building a new campus, by contrast, would take years and far larger investment.

Committee exchanges highlighted procurement rules and small‑business set‑asides. Cashman stated he could not bid for a particular Strategic National Stockpile purchase that targeted small businesses because of US Antibiotics’ ownership structure; he asked the committee to weigh procurement policy changes that would favor resilience in addition to price.

Ending: Cashman urged Congress to adopt policies that reward supply reliability alongside cost. He concluded his opening statement: “We have the infrastructure and we have the expertise, but we need this Congress to act.”