Parents across the country are panicking because they cannot get simple antibiotics like Amoxicillin for their children.
According to U.S. Pharmacopeia, 83% of the critically needed raw ingredients that go into making pharmaceutical drugs are based overseas, a supply chain concern that puts the U.S. at a “substantial risk,” according to the nation’s sole manufacturer of Amoxicillin brand products.
“About 80% of all antibiotics and many medications are produced in either India or China, or overseas, in any case. And that puts us as a country at substantial risk, not only risk of not having the medications, but it’s, of course, a public health risk. And, a security risk for our country because we become dependent upon some of these other countries,” USAntibiotics President Patrick Cashman told FOX Business’ Lydia Hu.
The United States’ heavy reliance on international drug production puts the future of the supply chain in severe jeopardy. A disruption of work, for example in China due to its zero-COVID policy, disrupts the entire supply of medication in the U.S.
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By the end of last year, facilities in India accounted for nearly half of the pharmaceutical ingredients being supplied to the U.S. European companies made up 22%, and China accounted for 13%. The U.S. was last on the list, only making up 10% of the medicine ingredients supplied domestically.
Since the early 2000s, China and India have grown their supply of drug ingredients to the United States. Companies in India were associated with 20% of the supply growth in the year 2000, but by the end of last year, they had grown to 62% for the year.
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Similarly, China grew from 4% to 23%. Meanwhile, the number of American companies making drug ingredients shrank from 15% to a mere 4% last year.
USAntibiotics President says that until the U.S. brings the supply chain back to American soil, issues like the Amoxicillin shortage will continue to impact Americans nationwide.
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