UK ‘perilously vulnerable’ to disruption in delivery of health supplies – report

The UK is “perilously vulnerable” to disruptions in the supply of the likes of antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostic tests, experts have warned.

The Centre for Long-Term Resilience said a dependence on supply chains with “critical pinch points” overseas in the face of “turning geopolitical tides” is a potential threat.

It also highlights a reliance on manufacturers in countries such as China for ingredients in certain antibiotics which could be hindered by natural or geopolitical events.

The think tank said the Government now has a “critical window” to bolster resilience in the UK and “mitigate extreme biological risks”.

The report, compiled from interviews, a questionnaire and research, explored the UK’s ability to deploy “medical countermeasures”.

This includes utilising vaccines, antibiotics and diagnostic tests to respond to a biological hazard.

It also claims the UK could actually be in a “worse position to respond to biological threats” than before.

The report highlights the UK’s reliance on China for the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in the antibiotic gentamicin, which is used to treat a number of bacterial infections.

One expert told the think tank there is seven dosage forms of the drug available to NHS England, all coming from two API suppliers whose factories are located in the same Chinese city.

The report warned any local or regional disruptions to this city, such as severe weather events, could lead to factory shutdowns and an inability for the NHS to source gentamicin.

It added: “In addition, any geopolitical event resulting in API export bans between China and countries downstream in the manufacturing process would also wipe out UK access to gentamicin.”

The report also said a number of experts cited a lack of visibility and transparency as “the greatest limitation to improvements in supply chain resilience”.

It called for a mandate for market authorisation holders to disclose dependency on API suppliers, along with the creation of a national supply chain data-sharing platform.

It also suggests third-party scrutiny of supply chain vulnerabilities should be increased.

Dr Cassidy Nelson, head of biosecurity policy at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, said: “The UK is perilously vulnerable to disruptions in the delivery of critical health supplies.

“Perhaps worst of all, the Government has very low cross-departmental visibility of important information about where we source pharmaceutical ingredients.

“As the Government seeks to rebuild our defence industrial base, it must also consider our strategic vulnerability in the pharmaceutical space and urgently boost the UK’s supply chain resilience ahead of future pandemics.”

Elsewhere, the report recommends the creation of a “stockpiling taskforce” that should publish its finding publicly, as well as measures to bolster life sciences manufacturing in the UK.

Author Dr Paul-Enguerrand Fady, biosecurity policy manager at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, said: “The Government now has a critical window in which it can build the UK’s resilience to mitigate extreme biological risks.

“The upcoming industrial strategy can provide the means to boost the country’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity while the spending review can ensure that the funds are available to make and safeguard vital investments in the sector.

“We need smart, joined-up policymaking to create a much more resilient country.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This Government inherited ongoing global supply problems, but we have robust measures in place to mitigate supply disruption across the health and social care sector, including access to hundreds of millions of vaccines in the event of a pandemic and stockpiles of critical medical goods.

“We are strengthening our resilience further by investing up to £520 million to manufacture more medicines, diagnostics, and medical technologies in the UK. In tandem, we are working closely with the NHS, regulators and other key partners to cut red tape to grow our life sciences sector, and working with international partners to bolster supply chains.”