Pharmaceutical Suppy Chain Hit by COVID-19
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Pharmaceutical Suppy Chain Hit by COVID-19

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Miriam Bello By Miriam Bello | Senior Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 03/25/2020 - 12:59

COVID-19 has already spread throughout the world, which means that logistic companies have to foresee a future distribution of a cure in the quickest, safest way possible. Finding a cure means supplying all patients at the right time. Otherwise, the treatment might no longer be effective (as most diseases tend to evolve) or the peak of the virus could have passed by then, which would mean a great loss on the investment made to fining a treatment.

Adam Johnson, director of Leeds-based Tudor International Freight stated that, at least in the UK, “the private sector will face challenges, such as how to handle its fleet capacity when … shipping products and the risk of staff being absent.” Logistic companies will have to prioritize the pharma sector while facing losses in others, which will result in a negative impact on the distribution chains of these sectors.

In this scenario, it is worth mentioning the importance of China for the pharmaceutical supply chain as it is the largest producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), which makes the industry dependent of the country’s exports. India imports 70 percent of its API’s from China that, at the same time, supplies around 45 percent of the US generic medicines. As China recovers, so will its supply chain, but the damage to India could force the country to search for other API providers.  Also, the effects of COVID-19 around the globe are different. While China is now recovering, India has just declared a lockdown on many cities and stronger preventive measures are to be expected as a way to prevent further damage.

Photo by:   Pilgrim Quality Solutions

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