This week’s big story: War in Europe and pharma supply chains

After two years of a global pandemic, pharmaceutical supply chains are facing another serious blow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24th.

Supplies of medicines into Ukraine are being impacted, leading organizations including the British Red Cross, UNICEF and the UNHCR refugee agency to issue calls for funds and donations to ensure vital medical supplies can reach Ukraine.

In terms of exports, one nation likely to feel the greatest impact is India, as pharmaceutical products constitute one of the country’s main exports to Ukraine, shipping more than US$ 181mn in products in 2021.

After Germany and France, India is the third-largest exporter of pharmaceuticals to Ukraine.

The impact of Russian sanctions

India also exports a substantial quantity of products to Russia. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, headquartered in Hyderabad in India's Telangana state, brought in revenue of more than US$62mn from Russian exports in 2021.

Sanctions imposed against Russian banks may impact outstanding payments due for these products. In addition, the cost of transportation is set to rise because oil prices are skyrocketing as a result of the conflict. This is likely to directly impact prices for many pharmaceutical firms.

Businesses have been expressing their concerns about the conflict. Speaking to The Hindu Businessline, a director of a major pharma company in India who chose to remain anonymous said that while the effects will still be felt even if international intervention helps to stop the war soon, should it escalate further they will have to halt exports.

Also in the news:

• Cardinal Health has partnered with cold chain solutions provider Ember Technologies to offer what they are calling the world’s first self-refrigerated, cloud-based shipping box to transport temperature-sensitive biologics.
• BioNTech has been accused of preventing the launch of a hub based in Africa to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines in favour of its own initiative, according to an investigation by the British Medical Journal. Read more about this in our previous article BioNTech’s modular facility for vaccine production in Africa.

Get exclusive access to member-only articles, reports, videos, interviews, webinars and other premium content from industry experts and thought leaders by signing up to Pharma Logistics IQ here.