Containing Coronavirus Could Affect The Availability Of Other Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration says it is closely watching the potential impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on the US drug supply — but with inspectors unable to travel to China, the agency is relying on reports from manufacturers inside China.

The fear is that containing coronavirus may disrupt Chinese drug factories badly enough to cause a spike in the price of drugs millions of Americans take every day.

Drugs contain active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs. The majority of drugs Americans use contain APIs that come from China. Experts Newsy spoke with told us generic drugs especially could be impacted by any production halt caused by Coronavirus containment efforts.

Experts say when Americans might feel any pinch with other drugs is still unknown, because it depends on the supply each individual manufacturer had before the coronavirus outbreak. But their best guess is anywhere from a few weeks to six months.