Long term impact of the Coronavirus crisis on the pharma supply chain

With the majority of active product ingredients (APIs) for drugs being manufactured in China, the COVID-19 crisis had a knock-on effect on the production of drugs worldwide. What long-term impact could this have on the pharma supply chains? 

Although the pharma industry is fighting against Covid-19 with drugs and vaccines, it has also been damaged by the pandemic. The damage is primarily due to the disruption of supply chains. 

Many pharma companies have been struggling to manufacture and distribute medicines because of the pandemic on a global scale. Although China has relaxed some restrictions, as the viral outbreak spread became a pandemic, other countries implemented export controls impacting pharma supply chains. 

Most notably, India restricted the exports of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) outside of the country, which impacted over-the-counter drugs and generic pharmaceuticals. 

It is hard to know, with any precision, the volume of APIs manufactured in China or India destined to the global market. Still, the manufacturing of many drugs – also life-saving ones – were affected because of such restrictions. 

It is important to note that disruption to supply chains and subsequent drug shortages don’t just affect patients already prescribed and taking those drugs, but also clinical research of investigational medicine, which rely on similar manufacturing plants.

Trials have further been disrupted due to the social distancing, lockdown, and quarantine measures implemented across the world, which mean continuing trials could put patients at significant risk.

What are the solutions to prevent future disruption? Although the pharma industry has contingency plans in place and has some supply chain and clinical trial process flexibility, such as virtual trials, this pandemic situation is unprecedented. Ultimately it is unclear how long it will last and how much more disruptive it could become

Regulators are looking to support pharma companies wherever they can in supply chain stability and clinical trial capacity. Still, moving supply chains and manufacturing is time-consuming, as well as costly.

Could Covid-19 encourage the pharma industry not to move their API manufacturing back to home soil?

Export Portal supports international trade across a variety of vertical industries, including pharma. Check out all the categories here: https://www.exportportal.com/categories