The pharmaceutical agency is responsible for acquiring and maintaining large stockpiles of health products—known as strategic stockpiles—that may be needed by the public in the event of an exceptional health emergency. It is responsible for ensuring the constant availability of these products and must be able to make them available to crisis management authorities.

These products, identified in national response plans for various health threats, are intended to address biological, chemical, or radiological risks, accidental risks of radioactive contamination, and large-scale epidemic threats (pandemics).