Middle East war forces pharmaceutical companies to reroute critical medicines to ensure Australian supply

The escalating war in the Middle East has forced major pharmaceutical companies to rapidly divert critical medicines away from one of the world's most important trade routes to ensure that essential supplies reach Australia.

As part of its retaliatory attacks against Israel and the United States, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting the movement of oil and goods like medicines and food.

Medicines Australia CEO Liz de Somer said as a result, some companies were redirecting critical medicines from sea to air freight, while using alternative routes that avoided Middle Eastern airspace.

"This has an enormous impact on the cost to the industry, for the logistics," she said.

"The fact that Australia is in a difficult geographical location presents some challenges.

"As we know, medicines are part of our national security, so it is having an impact on the industry's costs and an ability to bring medicines to Australia, however … they're doing everything in their power to ensure the supplies are available."

As well as the route closures, health industry stakeholders worldwide are also concerned about broader flow-on effects from the war and resulting disruptions to oil supplies.

The Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) UK chief executive, Leyla Hannbeck, said disruptions to international trade made it harder to source critical ingredients used to make many drugs.

"Many medicines, such as aspirin, paracetamol, and ibuprofen, have some petroleum-based ingredients in them. But it's not just that — it's the whole impact on the availability of raw materials that could lead to manufacturing being delayed and medicines prices going up," Dr Hannbeck told the ABC.

The IPA, which represents 5,000 pharmacies across England and Wales, has written to the UK government, urging it to shore up the supply of 150 medicines by putting an export ban on them.

It also wants shorter prescription durations to prevent people from stockpiling medication.

Dr Hannbeck said that, like Australia, the UK was heavily reliant on pharmaceutical imports, making it vulnerable to global supply shocks.

"We are way too dependent on China and India and other countries for our medicines, and hence something happening globally will impact us here hugely," she said.

"We need to invest in manufacturing here in the UK to make sure that, particularly with regards to the common medicines that we're using here, that we can manage ourselves."

Almost 400 medications in short supply

Pharmaceutical supply is already an issue in Australia, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration listing shortages of almost 400 medicines.

Because most medicines in Australia are imported, a single disruption to the global supply chain could result in medicines running out of stock for months, as exemplified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stock shortages can result in higher costs and additional stress to patients, as they sometimes have to buy more expensive alternative brands of medication or drive from chemist to chemist to secure crucial drugs.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Quality Care committee chair, Mark Morgan, said supply constraints placed a significant burden on those affected.

"Our patients are very concerned about the impact of medicines supply — but not just about the cost," Professor Morgan said.

"There are few things more important to a person than maintaining their health, and there are few things more concerning than potentially losing access to a medicine you have been advised to take for your health."

Professor Morgan said more could be done to make Australia's supply chain more resilient, including by making more medicines locally.

"We're lucky to have systems in place that maintain the quality and access to medicines in Australia, but there are issues and room for improvement. We seem to have medication shortages far too often," he said.

"We have limited onshore medicine manufacturing, and we also fall behind on adequate warehousing. A thriving local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry would mitigate some of the supply risks."

In a statement, a federal government spokesperson said medicine supply chains were being closely monitored by the Commonwealth.

"In Australia, Minimum Stockholding Requirements (MSR) mandate Responsible Persons (RPs) must hold up to six months' stock of certain PBS-listed medicines," they said.

"The MSR is designed to help Australian manufacturers maintain supply when global disruptions occur."

Ms de Somer stressed the current impact of the war was being carefully managed in Australia.

"We don't want the community to be panicked, or stockpile medicines, or panic buy medicines because at the moment the logistics are being managed and companies are being able to reroute medicine so that they can still reach Australia promptly and safely," she said.