The Virus and the Supply Chain

Coronavirus may or may not prove to be a health crisis in the U.S., but its impact on the production of pharmaceuticals could be serious.

While 90 percent of the finished drugs Americans take are generics, most are manufactured overseas, primarily in India and China. Even India, the world’s largest generics producer, relies on China for 80 percent of the APIs it uses in drug production. Nearly all the antibiotics used in the U.S. come from China. Some older antibiotics, like penicillin, are no longer made here; China controls worldwide penicillin production. In addition, a large amount of the personal protective equipment (PPE)—surgical gowns, gloves, masks and respirator protective devices—used to stop the spread of coronavirus and other infectious diseases are manufactured in China.

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