Britain is \u201ca few weeks away\u201d from medicine shortages ranging from painkillers to cancer treatment if the Iran war continues, according to experts, while drug prices could also rise.<\/p>\n
The conflict has disrupted the supply of a myriad of crucial raw materials, including oil, gas, crop fertiliser and helium<\/a> \u2013 and health essentials could be next.<\/p>\n David Weeks, the Texas-based director of supply chain risk management at the analytics group Moody\u2019s, said: \u201cIt\u2019s the perfect storm. 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. They produce a lot of the generic [off-patent] drugs and APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients]. With the geopolitical situation, it\u2019s harder and harder to get those out.\u201d<\/p>\n With airports in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi initially closed<\/a> and now operating a limited schedule, pharmaceutical companies have had to reroute their shipments via air, and some are now relying on sea transport, lengthening journey times.<\/p>\n Shipping \u2013 the main route for most medicines \u2013 is also under strain because of the near total closure of the strait of Hormuz<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shipping \u2013 the main route for most medicines \u2013 is also under strain because of the near total closure of the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Joe Giddens\/PA<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not in a crisis currently but it\u2019s still a serious situation,\u201d said Mark Samuels, the chief executive of Medicines UK, which represents manufacturers of the cheap, off-patent drugs known as generics that make up 85% of medications used by the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said that if the conflict dragged on then drug shortages could emerge in only a few weeks\u2019 time. Medical distributors typically stock six to eight weeks of stocks to avoid shortfalls; while suppliers to hospitals in England have to hold eight weeks\u2019 worth.<\/p>\n During the Covid pandemic, paracetamol and other painkillers were in short supply in Britain and elsewhere, as drugmakers in India \u2013 which produces 60% of generic medicines used globally and half of US requirements \u2013 scrambled to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n The UK makes about half of its medicines domestically, while a third comes from India and another chunk from the EU.<\/p>\n