On 13 August, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify 26 drugs that are essential for public health. The executive order also mandates that a six-month supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) necessary for manufacturing these drugs be stockpiled. ASPR has 30 days to compile this list of essential drugs.

The executive order also directs ASPR to update the 2022 list of 86 essential medicines and to propose a plan for acquiring and storing a six-month supply of APIs for these medications...[RAPS]