Long-term medicine shortages due to the Corona crisis

Long-term medicine shortages due to the Corona crisis

We are dealing with a pandemic. The Corona crisis has gripped the entire world. As a direct result, there is currently a shortage of medicines at pharmacies and in intensive care units in hospitals. This also creates many problems in the long term. Experts predict that the longer the crisis lasts, we may suffer from medicine shortages in the years to come.

One of the last Dutch companies

Ofichem is one of the last Dutch companies producing active pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines. In the 1980s, Europe still produced 80% of the medicines and active raw materials for medicines. Because China was able to produce and supply these active pharmaceutical ingredients at a much larger scale, most production has been relocated there. Now, about 80% is produced in China and also India. The entire world depends on this. Due to the Corona crisis, the factories in China and India have been shut down for a long time. There was also an export ban. The entire world is affected by this.

Becoming more self-sufficient again

The question is how did it get this far? How does it come we are so dependent on countries like China and India? How do we proceed after the Corona crisis? China targets to become the pharmacy of the world. What does this mean for people and animals in their need of medicines? The Dutch tv programme Zembla* has investigated this matter and asked Dr. Weite Oldenziel, CEO of Ofichem for his vision and expertise in this area. Weite Oldenziel concludes: “We have seen a phase-out from Western countries to low-wage countries for 20 years. We cannot change that overnight. That infrastructure is no longer there. But we can realize that it shouldn’t always have been this way and we should try to become more self-sufficient again.”

Read the article Zembla (in Dutch) wrote about the topic or watch the broadcast in English below:

*) ZEMBLA is a research journalistic program of the Dutch broadcaster VARA. The program wants to inform a broad public with independent journalism.