{"id":577417,"date":"2026-04-01T00:40:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/577417\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T00:40:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:40:41","slug":"uk-weeks-away-from-medicine-shortages-and-rising-drug-prices-if-iran-war-continues-experts-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/577417\/","title":{"rendered":"UK \u2018weeks away\u2019 from medicine shortages and rising drug prices if Iran war continues, experts warn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The conflict has already disrupted supplies of crucial raw materials, including oil, gas, fertiliser and helium<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=lbc.co.uk\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google<\/a><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Britain is \u201ca few weeks away\u201d from shortages of medicines ranging from painkillers to cancer treatments if the war with Iran continues, experts have warned\" class=\"content-image\" data-image-catalogue-id=\"802807\" width=\"660\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/802807.webp\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>    Britain is \u201ca few weeks away\u201d from shortages of medicines ranging from painkillers to cancer treatments if the war with Iran continues, experts have warned.<\/p>\n<p>Picture: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/license\/2214163374\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\nGetty<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"standfirst\">Britain is \u201ca few weeks away\u201d from shortages of medicines ranging from painkillers to cancer treatments if the war with Iran continues, experts have warned, with drug prices also likely to rise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">The conflict in the Middle East has already disrupted supplies of crucial raw materials, including oil, gas, fertiliser and helium, and health products could be next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, which represents manufacturers of generic drugs that make up 85% of medicines used by the NHS, warned shortages could emerge within weeks if the conflict drags on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">\u201cWe\u2019re not in a crisis currently but it\u2019s still a serious situation,&#8221; he told the Guardian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Mr Samuels said distributors typically hold six to eight weeks\u2019 worth of stock to prevent shortfalls, while suppliers to hospitals in England are required to keep eight weeks\u2019 supply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lbc.co.uk\/news\/health\/lawyers-to-call-for-now-suspended-surgeon-to-give-evidence-at-boys-inquest\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lawyers to call for now-suspended surgeon to give evidence at boy\u2019s inquest<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lbc.co.uk\/radio\/presenters\/natasha-devon\/caller-us-iran-war-impeachment-trump\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Caller Robin reckons the US-Iran war could conclude with the impeachment of Trump<\/a><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Satellite Imagery Of The Strait Of Hormuz\" class=\"content-image\" data-image-catalogue-id=\"802806\" width=\"660\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/802806.webp\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>    Satellite Imagery Of The Strait Of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>Picture: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/license\/2226239770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\nGetty<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">David Weeks, director of supply chain risk management at analytics group Moody\u2019s, said: \u201cIt\u2019s the perfect storm. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">&#8220;We have the conflict in the Gulf that caused the Strait of Hormuz to shut down, and India is known as the pharmacy of the world. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">&#8220;They produce a lot of the generic drugs and APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients).<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">&#8220;With the geopolitical situation, it\u2019s harder and harder to get those out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since the US-Israel war on Iran began four weeks ago \u2013 upending global oil supplies and sending energy prices soaring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">More than 20 ships have been attacked across the region during the conflict<\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Satellite view of Dubai International Airport after a drone strike ignited a fuel tank fire\" class=\"content-image\" data-image-catalogue-id=\"802809\" width=\"660\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/802809.webp\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>    Satellite view of Dubai International Airport after a drone strike ignited a fuel tank fire.<\/p>\n<p>Picture: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/license\/2267207634\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\nGetty<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Pharmaceutical firms have also been forced to reroute shipments after disruption at airports in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Some are now switching to sea freight, lengthening delivery times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">During the Covid pandemic, Britain and other countries saw shortages of paracetamol and other painkillers as manufacturers in India struggled to meet surging demand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">India produces 60% of the world\u2019s generic medicines and half of US demand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">The UK manufactures about a quarter of its medicines domestically, while around a third are imported from India, with another significant share coming from the EU.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Mr Samuels said the US-Israel war on Iran had doubled air freight costs. \u201cOne in five NHS medicines comes in by air, and currently manufacturers are trying to absorb those costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">\u201cBut they\u2019ve got historically low margins, and the risk is that it makes some medicines loss-making to supply to the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Medicines that often rely on air freight include drugs used in clinical trials\" class=\"content-image\" data-image-catalogue-id=\"802808\" width=\"660\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/802808.webp\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>    Medicines that often rely on air freight include drugs used in clinical trials.<\/p>\n<p>Picture: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/license\/73905131\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\nGetty<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">He added that air cargo volumes fell by 80% earlier this month and remain sharply down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">Medicines that often rely on air freight include high-value cancer and infectious disease treatments, advanced cell and gene therapies, biologics requiring cold storage, and drugs used in clinical trials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">A government spokesperson said: \u201cThere are currently no reported medicine shortages as a result of conflict in the Middle East. We continue to monitor the situation closely for any impacts on the medical supply chain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-text\">\u201cThe department actively monitors emerging threats to supply resilience and have established processes in place to manage disruption across the health and social care sector.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The conflict has already disrupted supplies of crucial raw materials, including oil, gas, fertiliser and helium Want LBC&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,137,490],"class_list":{"0":"post-577417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}