China is the world’s largest supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients, providing pharmaceutical companies key components of their drugs. However, after a yearlong recall of tainted heart drugs resulting from APIs from China, security officials are now questioning whether China’s drug supply dominance poses a health risk for military personnel and civilians.
While drugmakers usually don’t disclose where all the ingredients in a pill come from, the recall of contaminated blood-pressure drugs revealed that many of their active components were manufactured in China.
“The national security risks of increased Chinese dominance of the global API market cannot be overstated,” said Christopher Priest, acting deputy assistant director for healthcare operations and Tricare for the Defense Health Agency, which manages prescription drugs for military members, according to Bloomberg.
Concerns about the safety of Chinese-made active drug ingredients come as trade tensions build between China and the U.S. Last week, President Donald Trump said he would place more tariffs on Chinese goods. In response, China said it plans to halt imports of U.S. crops.
Medication shortages could become a major safety threat if China cuts off supply to these active ingredients, Bloomberg reported.
“If China shut the door on exports, our hospitals would cease to function, so this has tremendous urgency,” Rosemary Gibson, author of the book China Rx, which explores the risks of America’s dependence on China for drug ingredients, told Bloomberg.
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