Parenting today can feel like a never-ending exercise in risk management. We worry about what our kids eat, the air they breathe, and the schools they attend. Yet one of the most important questions rarely makes it into everyday conversation: Where do our children’s medications come from, and how confident are we in how they’re produced?
Becoming a mother brought this concern top of mind. Navigating doctors’ appointments for my little one led me to learn more about recommended treatments and how they were developed. My background in medicine and research empowered me to question drug safety, but many American families are left in the dark, unsure of which questions to ask or how to protect their loved ones.
The United States has long led the world in biomedical research and pharmaceutical innovation, setting what many call “gold standard science” for safety and ethics. Those breakthroughs are the result of careful preclinical research, rigorous oversight, and a culture that puts safety first, especially for our children. Done right, U.S.-led biomedical research gives parents something priceless: confidence that medicines for their families have been tested, validated, and monitored under the most demanding standards in the world.
RECLAIMING AFFORDABILITY: THE SANDWICH GENERATION IS BEING SQUEEZED BY THE COST OF CARE
Unfortunately, that leadership and confidence are eroding. American-led research is stagnating while other countries continue to grow their capabilities. China has now surpassed the U.S. in annual clinical trial activity, reflecting the migration of research and development overseas.
Most concerning, many foreign research facilities are not subject to the same level of scrutiny, quality control, or ethical requirements that define American research and production. This disparity is particularly evident in the offshoring of animal studies essential to early-phase pharmaceutical development. A recent FDA framework prioritizes new approach methodologies (NAMs) to replace animal testing, but researchers in the U.S. are urging caution. While technologies like artificial intelligence models hold promise, they are not yet proven to protect patients as effectively as current methods. By relocating to regions with uneven, rudimentary oversight and lower ethical standards, the industry risks compromising both scientific integrity and animal welfare, ultimately endangering Americans.
When a past health issue brought me to the cardiac intensive care unit, I found myself completely dependent on the treatment approaches of our medical system. While recovering, I remember being served a fruit cup from the hospital, labeled “Made in China.” If something as simple as a fruit cup isn’t made at home, I wondered, what else in our daily lives and our healthcare system is being outsourced to a foreign country? As companies move the research that leads to lifesaving treatments beyond our borders, parents like me lose the small control we have over what goes into the medicines our kids use.
Every child and family deserves medicines developed under the highest safety standards, free from foreign compromise. When corners are cut abroad, the consequences arrive on our pharmacy shelves, in our hospitals, and in our children’s bodies. That’s why I work with The Cure Coalition to strengthen domestic research and manufacturing and keep our families’ care under U.S. oversight.
The research happening in laboratories today will determine what treatments are available when children face serious illnesses tomorrow. If we allow critical research models to disappear or replace proven approaches with NAMs too quickly, we are gambling with our kids’ future and turning them into the first line of experimentation.
BABIES AND FAMILIES SHOULD NOT BE EXOTIC
As parents, we still have the power to change things. We can ask more questions: Where was this medicine researched? Where was it manufactured? What safety standards apply? We can support policies that rebuild U.S. biomedical leadership, invest in responsible research, and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. And we can stand with organizations that fight to restore safety and trust to American medical research.
My family has been fortunate to welcome a new addition this past February. While I’m excited to watch my daughter grow and experience the world, like so many parents, I can’t help but worry. I want my children, and children across the country, to grow up healthy and safe, and with access to dependable, gold-standard medicines and treatments should they need them. And I want every parent to have that peace of mind too.
Cara Kingan is the executive director of The Cure Coalition. She began her career in medicine, with a background in laboratory research, pharmaceuticals, clinical and surgical practice, and public health. She has published written works, counseled on insurance processing, and piloted new-to-market medical devices.