(LFC Comments:  We found this article from The Senior Citizens League to be fascinating and quite scary at the same time.  If you think that the pharmaceutical companies operate in our best interest, think again.  After reading this article, ask yourself if China would ever do anything to taint the generic drugs that are in 90% of prescription dispensed in the U.S.?)

Coronavirus and the U.S. Drug Supply

As the coronavirus continues to be among the major news stories each day, attention has turned to the drug supply in the U.S., not because of the cost but because of the vulnerability of the supply of prescription drugs for use in the nation.

The U.S. depends on China for thousands of chemicals needed to make prescription drugs.  That’s because it turns out that pharmaceutical companies have outsourced our generic medicine manufacturing to China.  [LFC Comment: read…more profits because of the slave labor used in China.]

In fact, generic medicines represent around 90 percent of all prescriptions dispensed in the U.S., and we depend on China for 80 percent of the core components to make our generic medicines. (emphasis added by LFC)

With China taking drastic measures to try and contain the spread of the disease, including quarantines and shutting down some industries, production to supply America’s pharmacies and medicine cabinets is at risk of interruption.

For instance, sedatives such a fentanyl and propofol, which are administered to people placed on ventilators to help them breathe, are made with core ingredients from China.  Medicines to treat shock, such as epinephrine and dopamine, are also made with chemical components from China. Antibiotics to treat sepsis, a life-threatening bloodstream infection, are made with raw materials supplied by China.

In addition, other medical supplies, including masks, gloves, and gowns are also made, in large measure, in China.

So it turns out that we have an important choice to make as a country. We can continue down the current path, increase our dependence on China, and accept the risk to our survival.  Or we can invest in domestic manufacturing of a minimum level of production of essential medicines to prevent a situation where our supply is severed.  (Emphasis added by LFC)

This is a new issue that has popped up on our radar and TSCL will be studying it in greater depth as we learn what might be done to insure lower prices and greater security for the prescription drugs that are so important for so many of us, especially the nations senior citizen population.

Categories: Corruption, Uncategorized

Tags: FT