Blockbuster diet pill supply hit by trade closures | Wilnesh News

Port strikes from New England to Texas have disrupted nearly half of U.S. trade, customs data show, key medical devices and pharmaceutical ingredients for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s booming, expensive weight loss and diabetes drugs – Ozempic , Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound are all trade victims of the ILA joint port shutdown.

Bills of lading (digital receipts for shipping containers) show the delivery mechanism for insulin and weight-loss drugs relies on East Coast ports for import trade.

“Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly rely heavily on the Port of Norfolk,” said William George, research director at ImportGenius, which tracks customs data.

Novo Nordisk According to George, last year the company imported 419 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) of pharmaceuticals through Norfolk, as well as filled injectable devices containing semaglutide, a compound in the brand’s weight-loss drug. “Novo precision syringes, which are commonly used for insulin injections, also come into the United States by sea,” he said.

Novo Nordisk’s chief executive recently testified before the U.S. Senate that the company has generated nearly $50 billion in sales from Wegovy and Ozempic, with most of the revenue coming from the United States.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said in an email to CNBC that the company has mitigation plans in place to minimize or prevent any production disruptions caused by potential seaport strikes. “We plan to ship our products to and from the United States via air freight,” the spokesperson said.

one Eli Lilly and Company A spokesman said it would not discuss details of its external supplier relationships.

Dennis Monts, PayCargo’s global chief commercial officer, said cargo volumes in the airline industry strengthened in September, peaking about two weeks ago. “We are watching the October data and expect a surge in air freight volumes for fast-moving and perishable items such as produce, seafood, medical supplies and other just-in-time inventory,” Muntz said.

Some drug shipments are labeled “high-value drugs” and “low-value drugs.”

Other shipments include active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in the manufacture of weight-loss drugs in the United States, as well as syringes and disposable needles.

Noushin Shamsili, CEO and president of Nuco Logistics, which specializes in the import and export of pharmaceuticals, told CNBC on Monday that the strike comes at a critical time for the pharmaceutical industry to restock its inventory. “Almost everything in this industry is on time,” Shamsiri said. “Raw materials are being brought in to complete drug production.”

About 48% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in the United States are imported from India. Without these APIs, drugs cannot be produced. API is also produced in Europe, which also uses East Coast ports as points of entry into the United States.

Some of these APIs are key ingredients needed to produce blockbuster weight-loss drugs.

“ILA’s strike at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports could impact the import and distribution of drugs like Ozempic,” Shamsili said. “Potential impacts of the strike include supply chain disruptions, increased transportation costs, API inventory shortages, and production delays.”

Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro and Zepbound, has been expanding its manufacturing facilities in the United States and Ireland but imports some APIs from Swiss manufacturer Corden Pharma to make tezepatide, which is used to make the brand-name drug. Novo Nordisk imports some APIs used in its Ozempic and Wegovy weight loss drugs. The API used for Ozempic and Wegovy is semaglutide.

Strikes at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports put medical supplies at risk

The Biden administration and state governments like New York are monitoring the risks of medical supplies more broadly.

On Monday, Biden administration leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services met with trade associations, distributors, manufacturers and other stakeholders to assess vulnerabilities and supply chain impacts.

“The current preliminary assessment indicates that the direct impact of drugs, medical devices, and infant formula on consumers, parents, and caregivers should be limited,” the U.S. government said in a statement. “The government is taking action to monitor and address Potential Consumer Impact of Labor Disputes at East Coast and Gulf Coast Ports.”

In addition to HHS, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) are in contact with industry associations, distributors and manufacturers to limit the impact on consumers and assess vulnerability.

East coast ports are also gateways for generic drugs made in India, Shamsiri said.

The ripple effects of Hurricane Helene have compounded problems in the healthcare industry supply chain.

Mirko Woitzik, director of intelligence solutions at Everstream Analytics, said Baxter International’s critical facility in North Bay, North Carolina, was damaged. The plant produces intravenous fluids that supply 60% of the U.S. market, including hospitals. The plant is also the largest supplier of intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions in the United States.

“The U.S. has just overcome widespread shortages of intravenous fluids that have persisted since 2014 due to production issues, recalls and increased demand due to Covid-19,” Woitzik said. “In 2023, the U.S. FDA still lists 55 intravenous fluid shortages related to intravenous fluids. Injection bag-related shortages.”

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, home to the largest port in the strike, said in a statement late Monday that the state was “working around the clock to make sure our grocery stores and medical facilities have them.” Necessities required.

While other IV infusion manufacturers include intensive care unit medical (17% market share) and B. Braun (23% market share) are unlikely to make up for the supply shortage in the short term.

“Intravenous fluids are essential medications used in hospitals for both routine and critical care,” Wojcik said. “In the event of a shortage, elective surgeries may be affected and patients have to stay in hospital longer due to rationing.”

He added that a similar incident occurred in 2017, when Hurricane Maria destroyed several pharmaceutical and medical device factories in Puerto Rico, leading to years of shortages of intravenous fluids and other patient-critical materials across the United States.

The Alliance for Chemical Distributors (ACD) said the strike would lead to significant delays, diversions and greater uncertainty in the delivery of essential products at countless U.S. ports.

Brandon Daniels, chief executive of supply chain risk management consultancy Exiger, said disaster relief agencies and critical infrastructure providers are scrambling to catalog the most important and affected critical cargo. “While 90 percent of containerized pharmaceutical imports are handled by these ports, we found that only 23 of the 165 critical pharmaceuticals are produced through foreign sources,” Daniels said. “High-value pharmaceuticals will be transported by air. We Of greater concern are the shortages of existing medicines we are already tracking, and how such disruptions are hurting the ability to procure vital APIs and precursors for everything from antibiotics to painkillers.

Daniels also warned that consumables needed for disaster relief, such as sterile gloves and medical plastics, are also processed through these ports.