In the spring of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, many pharmaceutical companies faced disruptions to their supply chains. Chemicals used to produce the key ingredients in drugs were often sourced from only a few suppliers in China — sometimes from just one.
The pandemic has brought to light just how much the global pharmaceutical supply chain depends on China, even for the most basic ingredients.
This is the final instalment of a Nikkei Asia series on Beijing’s aim to become the centre of the global drug industry. This instalment focuses on China’s market command for active pharmaceutical ingredients — a dominance some western countries are challenging as Covid-19 and geopolitical tensions expose supply-chain vulnerabilities.
Read more here.
A version of this article was first published by Nikkei Asia on April 5 2022. ©2022 Nikkei Inc. All rights reserved