Hurricanes impact Puerto Rico's huge pharma production capacity

Puerto Rico, an unincorporated US territory in the Caribbean, has been a hub of pharmaceutical manufacturing for some time, but in the aftermath of hurricane Maria (and Irma), that has changed – at least for now, says Mark Schwartz, writing on the Hyman, Phelps & McNamara FDA Law Blog.

Without power in most of the island, but more importantly, without employees who can get to work on a regular schedule, much of Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical manufacturing has been idled, and is likely to continue that way for some time.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, pharmaceutical manufacturing represented 72% of Puerto Rico’s exports in 2016 ($14.5 billion), and the sector accounted for 25% of the total of US pharmaceutical exports to the rest of the world. By comparison, California was next in line, but had only half as much in the way of pharmaceutical exports.