Policy reform call to secure Europe’s antibiotics supply

Procurement reform, policy intervention and international regulatory leadership are all required to address a growing supply chain crisis for system-critical antibiotics in Europe.

That’s according to a new report from healthcare consultancy Newmarket Strategy, and sponsored by Sandoz, that highlights a number of drivers behind the issue and threats from antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Alongside an excessive cost focus in generic procurement procedures and increasingly unequal global competition, the report also calls out underinvestment in ensuring access to existing treatments and the growing dependence on a handful of largely Asian suppliers.

Richard Saynor, CEO of Sandoz, noted that reliable access to antibiotics is increasingly at risk. In recent years, Europe has experienced two major disruptions to penicillin supply – most recently during the winter of 2022-23.

According to the report: “The last remaining 6-APA manufacturing site in any European or North American country – operated by Sandoz in Kundl, Austria – faces an increasingly precarious economic situation, which has worsened significantly in recent years due to a series of major geopolitical shocks.

“Without intervention, this could threaten the last regional supply of this critical precursor and leave European countries dangerously exposed to global supply chain shocks and future AMR pandemic threats.”

In June, pharma giant GSK confirmed that production had ceased at its Ulverston site, the UK’s last major antibiotic fermentation facility.

These challenges are compounded by political pressures in the US pushing manufacturers to onshore production to the country. Fellow industry heavy-weight Lilly has in recent months announced a succession of four new US manufacturing sites, including sites in Virgina and Texas, and GSK announced in September it is investing $30 billion in US R&D and manufacturing over the next five years.

However, the direction of travel for pharma manufacturing investments is not all towards the US. Companies bolstering their presence in Europe, for example, include Sandoz itself, which unveiled plans last month to build a new biosimilars production facility in Brnik, Slovenia, to “ensure reliable and sustainable supply in the region”.

Saynor concluded: “This paper offers a clear, policy-led path forward, from smarter procurement and stronger regional manufacturing to aligned regulation and broader public-private collaboration. By acting now, we can protect supply, support stewardship and secure access for every patient who needs these vital medicines – not only today, but for generations to come.”