Imbruvica MADE IN CHINA....How will the Coronavirus effect it?

[jdolinger]

Just checking in with a question. I understand that the Imbruvica (ibrutinib) pills many of us are taking are MADE IN CHINA or at least many of the ingredients are. Does anyone having any information on what the future availability or efficacy of the product will be considering what is going on with the Coronavirus?

[AdrianUK]

Typically pharmaceuticals are made in huge batches and then stored as this is much cheaper than making them in small batches. One would hope therefore that any short term disruption to factories in china will have limited effect (a bit like if they stop making iPhones...) I would also imagine that the companies will have contingency plans to allow them to make medicines outside of china if such issues were to continue long term. Someone who is taking ibrutinib could legitimately phone the Pharma company's medical information service as a patient and ask them about manufacturing, stock levels and any contingency planning. When you think about how much money is involved in these medicines, I am sure that the companies will find a way round any issues. They do take security of supply very seriously. Of course it is unlikely that china would ever shut down its entire manufacturing industry or block all exports, and even if this disease becomes endemic the Chinese people are innovative and will find ways to try to limit the spread whilst still making things for the reset of the world including medicines.

[YelvertonDevon]

I hadn’t thought of the repercussions involved in manufacture of anything whether a Tesla or drugs.

telegraph.co.uk/business/20...

[KatieBlue]

This has been a concern of mine, also. Thanks Adrian for additional insight.

[MrMidnight]

I have considered the same possible disruption to the drug I'm taking on a clinical trial, zanubrutinib. It seems to me that a company like Beigene that has invested so much money in developing the drug and then running extensive clinical trials in other countries would not accept any interruption to that supply. It would make no sense to say "Patients did well for x years but after that we can't say because we ran out of the trial drug..."

There is overwhelming incentive to have an uninterrupted supply and I'm sure the Chinese govt would make sure its lucrative pharma industry wasn't interrupted even temporarily.

[jdolinger in reply to MrMidnight]

I hope you are correct but do not have faith in anything the Chinese govt. does. This virus is developing uncontrolled. Reports are that 61,000 reported cases; over 650 deaths so far and a vaccine is a year off. And many reports state that the Chinese govt. is far under-reporting the true numbers of cases. Would you (not meant to be personal but global) eat or drink something from China and yet we are blindly consuming ingredients from there in our medicine that was probably made before this crisis was even reported. A pound of caution here is probably worth it. I plan to research this manufacturer etc. Trying not to be an alarmist just hoping we all will join in the research. Thanks. Jack O.

[Ladylin151]

If you are willing to take drugs that are made in China already, then you can expect any future drugs to be just as safe. Drug manufacturing is a clean process and has already taken into account the spread of germs. ( Or not, but it is just as safe as it was last year.) This year in the US 180,000 people have been hospitalized with flu and 10,000 of them have died. That's 3x the number of ill and almost 20x the number of dead, for an illness that DOES have a vaccine. Since China has almost 5 times the number of people than the United States, obviously these numbers are ( in relation) quite small.

[jdolinger in reply to Ladylin151]

I am just guessing but Ladylin might suggest you are Asian ( not meaning to be slanderous just observation). With all due respect, you quote statistics as “this year” but I believe you mean “last year”. The influenza vaccine is a preventive vaccine not a curative vaccine. The Coronavirus is approx, one to two months old. It started in Wuhan in “meat markets” and is being traced to bats, etc. (google it-“Wuhan meat markets) and according to the the WHO may have much larger numbers than reported by the Chinese. Two months and 61,000 cases ( versus the 180,000 as you state) just extrapolate out and the annual number of coronavirus cases would be 360,000 and even 1% is 3,600 dead. Just saying there is cause for concern and we need to be vigilant and ask questions. Please understand, I am not trying to be argumentative or alarmist just opening up the conversation. I am a former Hospital Administrator and am used to questioning etiology.

Jack O.