Overcome Global Medicine Shortages With Innovative Manufacturing

As demand for biologic medications continues to grow, global shortages loom large over developers seeking to provide a reliable supply to patients in need. In 2022, multiple factors contributed to widespread medicine supply disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, inflation, energy prices, export bans, and consumer stockpiling. In the European Union, 29 member countries reported experiencing medicine shortages. The UK faced a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) shortage while the US struggled to maintain ibuprofen stocks and ADHD treatments.

The manufacture of pharmaceuticals is typically highly concentrated, and with a relatively small number of facilities and suppliers, compared to existing and latent demand, any disruption, such as ongoing regulatory obstacles and raw material shortages, could spiral into a global matter. By nature, biologics production processes have high quality requirements and small margins for error. As injectable medicines, they are more susceptible to manufacturing challenges than their small-molecule counterparts. Download the full article to learn more about some of the innovative manufacturing strategies that are helping to build more resilient supply chains, mitigate risk, and prevent potential shortages.