China's pharmaceutical dominance raises supply chain resilience, quality concerns

New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) China's growing dominance in pharmaceutical manufacturing, particularly in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and critical medical supplies, creates concerns about supply-chain concentration and strategic dependence on a single country, a report has said.

Meanwhile, concerns over quality control and regulatory compliance continue, with recent inspections at some manufacturing facilities identifying deficiencies involving documentation, manufacturing processes and quality assurance systems, the report from Maldives Insight said.

"While such findings do not represent the entire Chinese pharmaceutical industry, they highlight the challenges regulators face in monitoring complex global supply chains that span multiple countries and thousands of facilities," the report said.

China has established itself as one of the world's largest producers of APIs, supplying thousands of ingredients used in medicines sold across North America, Europe and Asia, supported by government backing, large industrial clusters and lower production costs.

The report highlighted a recent concern surrounding GLP-1 drugs, used to treat diabetes and obesity, which stemmed from the world’s growing dependence on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Though the surge in China’s pharmaceutical sector is often presented as a new economic opportunity or industrial innovation, critics argued that Beijing’s deeper objective extends beyond commercial success to creating global dependence on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing.

China views pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare innovation as the core of its long-term industrial strategy, but the sector also provides Beijing with influence in areas linked to public health and national security.

“A medicine may be designed by a company in the United States, tested in Europe, manufactured in Asia and distributed globally. In such a system, any disruption at a critical link can create shortages affecting millions of patients,” the report explained the new global scenario.

Policymakers in the United States, Europe, Japan and other countries have since Covid-19 pandemic promoted domestic manufacturing and diversified sourcing strategies for essential medicines.

Some Chinese manufacturers have allegedly failed to meet established production standards, while concerns were raised periodically about the quality of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and medical devices exported to overseas markets.

—IANS

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