Pharmaceutical Resilience as a European Defense Imperative (iss.europa.eu)

• High reliance on Chinese precursors for antibiotics, reaching up to 94% in some cases.
• Chinese pharmaceutical industry fueled by aggressive state subsidies and market access restrictions.
• EU strategy must shift to incentivize local production and secure alternative supply sources.

"The European Union faces a critical vulnerability in its healthcare sector due to heavy dependence on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and chemical precursors. A stress test of 56 essential drugs reveals that generic medicine supply chains are highly fragile, particularly for antibiotics. China's state-led industrial policy has systematically captured market share through subsidies and protectionism. To mitigate this, the authors advocate for the implementation of the 'Critical Medicines Act,' emphasizing the need to preserve existing EU production, diversify supply chains through global partnerships, and bolster Europe's innovative base to avoid geopolitical coercion in the health sector."