The Prescription Supply Chain Resource Center is a trusted hub for evidence-based insights, data, and analysis on the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. Our mission is to improve transparency, strengthen resilience, and support equitable access to essential medicines by providing policymakers, researchers, health care professionals, and the public with reliable information on how prescription drugs are manufactured, distributed, and delivered.
Our goal is simple: to shine a light on the complex system that gets prescription drugs from manufacturers to pharmacies, and to explain the challenges like drug shortages, global supply disruptions, and rising costs that affect access to essential treatments.
Through easy-to-understand resources, interactive tools like the “Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Dashboard)” , and timely analysis, we help people stay informed about where their medicines come from, why shortages happen, and what can be done to build a more secure and resilient supply.
The Prescription Supply Chain Dashboard combines structured and unstructured data to provide real-time insights on the global network the U.S. relies on for prescription drugs.
At the Prescription Supply Chain Resource Center, we are committed to transparency, collaboration, and impact ensuring that knowledge about the pharmaceutical supply chain is not only available but also actionable for improving patient care and public health.
What causes drug shortages?
Drug shortages arise when the availability of medications fails to keep pace with clinical demand, but this seemingly straightforward imbalance often reflects a wide array of underlying factors. Shortages may occur because demand increases, supply decreases, or both shift in ways that are misaligned. Further complexity arises when regional variations in supply and demand create uneven patterns of access across the country, leading to localized gaps in the availability of essential medicines.1
Can the US rely on domestic production to fill all prescriptions?
The United States cannot currently rely solely on domestic production to meet all prescription drug needs, as the pharmaceutical supply chain remains highly globalized, with a majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished dosage forms sourced from countries such as India and China.
Where are drug shortages likely to occur in the future ?
The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Dashboard uses structured and unstructured data to predict and identify shortages.
What types of drugs are most likely to experience shortages?
Generic drugs are currently most at risk, as they account for 90% of U.S. prescriptions but over two-thirds of shortages.2
Funding
This project builds on the Johns Hopkins Prescription Drug Supply Chain Data Dashboard, originally developed with support from a 2024 Johns Hopkins NEXUS Research Award granted to Dr. Mariana Socal. Building on this foundation, the team received a $1.5 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to strengthen the resilience of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. This work is part of a broader DOD initiative awarded to the Uniformed Services University’s (USU) Center for Health Services Research