As if we don't already have enough to worry about. From the article:
Roughly 80% of active ingredients used by commercial sources to produce finished medicines come from China, Christopher Priest, deputy assistant director at the U.S. Defense Health Agency, said in testimony given last July to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
This view reflects the fact that the overall market for prescription drugs consists of brand-name and generic medicines. Again, data is lacking on the volume of ingredients from China that reach the U.S. But a growing number of Indian generic makers purchase ingredients from China. In fact, the Indian government is trying to find ways for its domestic industry to become less reliant on Chinese suppliers.
There are implications here for consumers elsewhere — and the possibilities can be seen by playing connect the dots. In the U.S., for instance, medicines imported from India account for 40% of all generics used. And roughly 90% of all prescriptions written in the U.S. are for generics. The upshot: An untold amount of ingredients made in China are finding their way to U.S. medicine cabinets.
‘The time to worry is now’: The coronavirus in China could threaten pharma’s ingredient sourcing - STAT - January 27, 2020
statnews.com/pharmalot/2020...
Might be a good idea to get those scripts topped off, just in case . . .
Be Well - cujoe