A report published in the American Journal of American Conservancy warned of what it called the "dangerous China grip" on American medicines, as the United States depends on China to supply 80% of the essential ingredients for making generic medicines.
A generic drug is a drug that contains the same type and dose of a brand-registered drug, but it is cheaper and sold only in the name of the scientific substance it contains.
Intellectual property laws give drug companies that invent new drugs the right to register them with their own brand names and monopolize the right to manufacture and sell them exclusively for a certain period of time.
If China limits these supplies, writer Rosemary Gibson said, the shelves of pharmacies in the United States will be empty within months, hospitals will stop working, and doctors will not be able to perform surgeries or treat cancer with recommended medications, or provide dialysis treatment for people who suffer from Kidney failure.
Generic drugs
The writer mentioned that generic medicines account for 90% of the drugs Americans take, and thousands of these - sold in drug stores, streets, pharmacies, and grocery stores - contain ingredients made in China. As a country, the United States is aware of the geopolitical influence that China will exercise if global oil supplies and refineries are concentrated in one country. But she does not understand the reasons behind China controlling its medicines.
The author explained that in the late 1980s, antibiotic manufacturing plants were located throughout the country, as a report from Oak Ridge National Laboratory documented the location of penicillin, tetracycline, cephalosporin and other antibiotic fermentation facilities.
30 years later, antibiotic fermentation facilities have disappeared in the United States. When the federal government needed to purchase 20 million doses of doxycycline after the anthrax attacks in 2001, it had to get help from a European company that in turn obtained this chemical component from a Chinese factory.
dominance
The writer stated that it is believed that China has become the dominant supplier of basic materials for pharmaceutical manufacture in the United States due to low labor costs, weak environmental laws, and the lack of protection for workers there. But in reality, China has pursued a deliberate strategy to disrupt and control advanced industries in the United States and other Western countries. One of the tools China uses to do this is cartels (monopolistic groups).
Perhaps penicillin is a perfect example of this. The last penicillin brewery in the United States produced 70% of the world's supplies, but it was closed in 2004. This is the year in which the Chinese cartel distributed the chemical that makes penicillin on the world market at low prices compared to market prices, maintaining that price for a while Four years, which affected American production.
The production of penicillin and other antibiotics in only one country is a threat to the health security of the United States. The most prominent example is that when a factory specializing in the manufacture of antibiotics to treat sepsis exploded in China, this led to a shortage of medicines for this disease in the United States and around the world as well.
The author stated that the Chinese cartels had targeted chemotherapy to treat cancer as well. As the Food and Drug Administration had to ban chemotherapy products from a factory in China that is the dominant global supplier, hospitals were forced to economize chemotherapy consumption due to a shortage.
The Chinese cartel strategy has succeeded, and its goal is not only to ingredients, but to local Chinese companies to produce generic drugs. Within a decade, China achieved a market share of 90% of medicines, which included antibiotics to treat anthrax, antidepressants, birth control pills, drugs for Alzheimer's, HIV (AIDS), diabetes, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. Americans, for example, spend an estimated $ 6 billion annually on generic medicines made in China.
Monopoly
The author states that if China's past business predicts its future business, then generic drug companies in China engage in cartel practices and cause the collapse of the US and European generic pharmaceutical industry. Indeed, the remaining drug manufacturers face an imminent existential threat, and Western companies are shutting down many drugs. The Food and Drug Administration maintains a list of medicines that are not available or are in short supply, and the reason many drugs are not available is because companies stopped manufacturing them.
The author indicated that to mitigate these risks, the first step is to give Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs the flexibility to break through routine procedures and purchase generic drugs based on national security and quality considerations.
Currently, the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are now dependent on price alone. Indeed, this practice would weaken the troops, undermine their combat readiness, and increase the military's reliance on China. Taxpayers will be dismayed when they know that an increasing share of their money to buy medicine for the military and veterans goes to China. As for the cost, generic drugs can cost much less if manufactured using advanced manufacturing technology.
investment
The author emphasized that the federal government has a proven track record in investing in public-private partnerships to manufacture the flu vaccine and other essential medicines. An investment similar to domestic production could be considered commercially for generic generic drugs, their active ingredients, and primary chemicals. Long-term contracts with the Ministry of Defense, the Veterans Affairs Ministry and the strategic national stockpile will provide a public sector client base.
Meanwhile, private hospitals can form another base for clients. Finally, a group of hospitals was established to identify new manufacturers to produce medicines that are constantly lacking and pay them at a fair price, in addition to providing long-term contracts so that they can invest in good manufacturing. There is no doubt that the country's hospitals do not want to rely on China for business continuity and patient care. The United States needs a plan that will put an end to its dependence on China for access to vital medicines, and it needs to implement this plan as soon as possible.