The act authorizes the U.S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service's Hygienic Laboratory "to inspect firms producing vaccines, and grant licenses to those that m[e]et rigorous standards of cleanliness and product purity" (NIH).

Additionally, it mandates that the production and sale of vaccines, serums, antitoxins, etc. meet annual licensing requirements. This is done as a response to contaminated whooping cough vaccines that were being introduced to the market without scrutiny or oversight.