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While the medical product supply chain has always been subject to vulnerabilities, those weaknesses were laid bare early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Drug and medical device supply chains have historically been susceptible to factors such as a lack of supplier redundancy, components, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or finished product manufacturers. But pandemic-driven sourcing and workplace disruptions magnified these pain points, resulting in the ongoing problems that have persisted for the past two years.
Although the root causes are complex and the possible solutions numerous, important developments at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have led to increased transparency about drug and medical device shortages. Although this transparency is a promising starting point for formulating short- and long-term supply chain solutions, strong policy development, planning and …