The coronavirus outbreak in China could lead to a shortage of some 150 prescription drugs, two sources familiar with a list compiled by the Food and Drug Administration told Axios.
The drugs include antibiotics, generics and some that are without alternatives.
The FDA did not comment on the list, but said that it's "keenly aware that the outbreak could impact the medical product supply chain," as China is a major supplier of the ingredients used to make drugs that are sold in the U.S.
The FDA added that it was working hard to identify potential difficulties for American medical products due to the coronavirus by coordinating with global regulators, as well as being in contact with hundreds of drugs and medical device manufacturers.
"If a potential shortage or disruption of medical products is identified by the FDA, we will use all available tools to react swiftly and mitigate the impact to U.S. patients and health care professionals," an FDA spokesperson told Axios.
However, BioCentury noted that FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn is not a part of the Trump administration’s task force dealing with the outbreak, and only two of the dozen members are physician-scientists.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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