In Case You Missed It… Sen. Rick Scott Hosts Leading Pharmaceutical Executives for Discussion on Strengthening Domestic Drug Supply Chain

TAMPA, Fla. - Senator Rick Scott, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, yesterday hosted Florida's pharmaceutical leaders at St. Joseph's Hospital for a roundtable conversation on securing and expanding the domestic drug supply chain.

Chairman Scott said, "What we're doing is saying 'How can we make the drugs, that people are taking all across our state, safe?' We don't want to be dependent on another country that might withhold their drugs, and we want to make sure the things we are putting in our bodies are safe. When you buy clothing, you know where it's made. When you buy a piece of produce at a grocery store, you know where it's made. We need to know where our drugs are made…

"Forums like these are really important because you get ideas. Ideas aren't going to come out of the federal government; they're going to come out of the people that are dealing with this every day."

Chairman Scott was joined by:

• Pat Witmer, Corporate Vice President, B. Braun Medical
• Scott White, Chief Commercial Officer, Belcher Pharmaceuticals
• Brian McMillan, CEO, Bravado Pharmaceuticals
• Les Louden, PharmD, Regional Director of Pharmacy Services, BayCare Health System
• Ken Komorny, PharmD, Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer, Moffitt Cancer Center
• Nicholas W. Carris, PharmD, MPH, Interim Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs at the University of South Florida
• Zayne Smith, Senior Director of Advocacy, AARP Florida

BACKGROUND:

Chairman Scott has been a leading voice in Washington for drug supply chain reform. In January 2026, Chairman Scott introduced the Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act to add country of origin labeling requirements to the U.S.'s prescription drug supply chain.

Many prescription drugs, and their active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), are manufactured overseas, particularly in China and India, and current federal labeling requirements do not require public disclosure of where those ingredients or finished products are made.

The legislation builds on an investigative report and more than a dozen inquiries to federal agencies and industry leaders requesting information on the U.S.'s dangerous over-reliance on foreign-manufactured generic drugs.

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