Sustained Crude Disruption can Choke Medicine Supply: ADB

Chennai: Prolonged oil and gas disruptions could quietly choke medicine supplies, and Asia, particularly India, could become the epicenter of the crisis, the ADB has found.

Almost every medicine produced today is based on petrochemical-derived raw materials. While only 3% of oil production is used to manufacture pharmaceuticals, a staggering 99% of all pharmaceutical raw materials have their origins in petrochemicals.

India produces nearly half of all generic medicines distributed globally and about 65% of those considered essential vaccines, according to the ADB. While India gets about 40 percent of its crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, this closure directly affects the country’s ability to produce these drugs.

China is the world’s largest producer of pharmaceutical raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and India imports more than a third of its APIs, with nearly 70 percent of these imports coming from China. Any disruption to petrochemical supply chains will have a major impact on global pharmaceutical supplies as the two countries have a deep bond in ensuring the supply of accessible generic medicines and essential vaccines.

Disruptions will affect production from the most basic to the most complex drugs. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are synthesized directly from propylene, a crude oil derivative. Drugs for infections (antibiotics), cholesterol lowerers (statins), diabetes (insulin) and cancer (chemotherapy drugs) all rely on petrochemical-derived intermediates at some stage of their production. Drug distribution is also dependent on petrochemicals. The intravenous bags hanging in hospitals, the syringes used in vaccination campaigns, and the nitrile gloves worn by every nurse and pharmacist are made of polymer and plastic.

The prices of many APIs have increased. As supplies of vaccines and medicines tighten, the dangerous consequences of drug shortages become more likely. Counterfeiters can take advantage of this situation.

“This is an existing and documented risk for Asia and the Pacific. Authorities in India, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam have all recently issued warnings about counterfeit medicines. With the costs of raw materials and production rising sharply across the region, the risk of substandard or adulterated products entering supply chains through deliberate fraud or deception is increasing significantly. For countries in the region with the least regulatory capacity to detect and prevent counterfeit medicines, this is a particularly acute threat,” says the ADB.