- Fever medicine comes from the Far East
- Economy expects tough winter
- Covid wave started even before opening
- Germany founds Hong Kong parliamentary circle
- Xi speaks at COP15 conference
- EU Parliament backs white paper protests
- China Perspective: The Great Wailing Wall
What happens when important pharmaceuticals are suddenly hard to come by? Germany is currently experiencing this. Fever medication for children is harder to get than usual. Although the shortage is not (yet) caused by delivery problems in the Far East, it can serve as a warning to us, write Christian Domke Seidel and Christiane Kuehl. But they can be a warning to us, write Christian Domke Seidel and Christiane Kuehl. Ibuprofen and paracetamol contain active ingredients that come predominantly from China.
And the situation could get even worse in the coming weeks. Because with the Omicron tsunami currently sweeping across China, many pharmaceuticals are now in short supply there as well. Most of the medicines produced are kept in their own country. Meanwhile, the WHO provides an explanation for the surprisingly fast buildup of the infection wave. The rapid spread of Covid was not caused by the openings at all, but already began to build up before.
German companies in China, on the other hand, have some hope. Their mood may have never been as bad as it was this year. One in two companies will refrain from making any further investments in the People’s Republic in the next two years, or will even leave the country altogether. But at least the relaxations should soon make international travel possible again. And that should help boost the appeal of doing business in and with China.
Felix Lee
Feature
Dependence also for ibuprofen and paracetamol
Fever and pain medications for children based on the active ingredients paracetamol or ibuprofen have become in short supply in Germany. The current bottleneck is not caused by problems with shipments from China, but is mainly the result of extreme demand. But the shortages can be seen as a warning shot. After all, Germany’s supply of antipyretics is also dependent on imports. And the most important countries of origin are India and China.
For example, ibuprofen. There are now only six manufacturers of generic ibuprofen worldwide, of which four are located in Asia:
- Hubei Biocause and Shandong Xinhua in China,
- Solara and IOLPC in India, and
- BASF and the SI Group in the USA.
These six companies compress the active ingredient ibuprofen with suitable excipients into a tablet and then package the pills. It is a typical constellation: Fewer manufacturers hold ever larger market shares, also in Asia.
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