{"id":856485,"date":"2026-03-28T17:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/856485\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T17:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:11:14","slug":"is-the-uk-at-risk-of-hitting-a-medicine-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/856485\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the UK at risk of hitting a medicine shortage?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK could face medicine shortages in \u201ca few weeks\u201d if the war in Iran<\/a> continues, some industry experts have said.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

Experts have raised concerns that the ongoing conflict affecting key transport routes could begin to affect the flow of medicines into Britain. The war has already disrupted the supply of crucial raw materials including crop fertiliser, helium, gas<\/a> and oil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brent crude oil hit more than $110 a barrel this week as ships continue to remain stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, surging gas prices have provoked fears that energy bills in the UK could exceed \u00a32,000.<\/p>\n

Pharmaceutical<\/a> supply chains are also heavily dependent on international shipping and air freight, with ingredients and medicines often produced overseas, including in India<\/a>, which produces around 20 per cent of the world\u2019s generic medicines.<\/p>\n

Although half of the UK\u2019s medicines are made domestically, a third comes from India and a portion from the EU.<\/p>\n

Global supply chains under pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Disruptions to major air routes and shipping lanes has already forced companies to reroute deliveries, hiking costs and delays. <\/p>\n

If the conflict drags on, medicine shortages could emerge in only a few weeks\u2019 time, Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, a company representing manufacturers of the cheap drugs known as generics which account for 85 per cent of medications used by the NHS, told The Guardian.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not in a crisis currently, but it\u2019s still a serious situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Medicine supplies typically hold between six and eight weeks of stock providing a buffer against short-term disruption, but prolonged delays to shipments could begin to empty reserves and may result in shortages in a few weeks\u2019 time, Mr Samuels added.<\/p>\n

Gareth Jones, director of external affairs at the National Pharmacy Association, told The i Paper: \u201cThis is an uncertain and fast evolving situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPharmacies are alarmed by events in the middle east and we urge the government to closely monitor what the impact this could have on the nation\u2019s medicine supplies. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we\u2019re unaware of immediate disruption to medicines, prolonged blockades could have to potential to lead to supply problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Middle East conflict disrupts distribution<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rising transport costs are also adding pressure to the supply chain of medicines. Air freight prices have surged while some pharmaceutical companies have diverted to sea routes, increasing shipping times. <\/p>\n

Shipping accounts for the majority of medicine transport to the UK and have been severely affected by disruption in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Major carriers such as Maersk have temporarily suspended operations in the UAE and imposed an emergency surcharge as firms reroute around Africa, adding time and cost to deliveries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medicines supply chain is a complex and global one and we know that world events have in the past compounded existing medicine shortages,\u201d Jones added.<\/p>\n

\"CargoCargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from near the border with Oman (Photo: Stringer\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

David Weeks, the Texas-based director of supply chain risk management at the analytics group Moody\u2019s, said: \u201cIt\u2019s the perfect storm. We have the conflict in the Gulf that caused the strait of Hormuz to shut down, and India is known as the pharmacy of the world. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey produce a lot of the generic [off-patent] drugs and APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients]. With the geopolitical situation, it\u2019s harder and harder to get those out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medication in short supply<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drugs including blood pressure medication, painkillers and antidepressants are already impacted by the supply issues, Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association, told The Sun.<\/p>\n

There was a shortage of paracetamol and other painkillers in Britain during the coronavirus<\/a> pandemic when providers in India, which produces 60 per cent of generic medicines used globally and half of US supplies, struggled to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n

A report from the House of Lords Public Services Committee has called for better data sharing and a more proactive government approach to managing medicine shortages. The report<\/a> described medicines supply as \u201ca national security issue\u201d. <\/p>\n

There are around 14,000 medicines licensed in the UK and the overwhelming majority are in good supply, a spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are currently no reported medicine shortages as a result of conflict in the Middle East. We continue to monitor the situation closely for any impacts on the medical supply chain,\u201d a government spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe department actively\u202fmonitors\u202femerging\u202fthreats to supply resilience and have established\u202fprocesses in place to manage disruption across the\u202fhealth\u202fand\u202fsocial\u202fcare\u202fsector.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government said they are domestically enhancing the UK\u2019s manufacturing capability to mitigate cross-cutting risks to medical supply chains. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK could face medicine shortages in \u201ca few weeks\u201d if the war in Iran continues, some industry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[105,4326,3912,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-856485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-medication","10":"tag-medicine","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116307918014957239","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}