Irma, Maria highlight pharma's need to balance supply chain

An expert view piece by Steven Shill, Patrick Pilch and David Friend from the BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation, on what drug manufacturers should watch in the wake of natural disasters.

When it comes to natural disasters, it’s not about if your supply chain will be impacted, it’s when.

For the life sciences industry, the consequences of supply chain disruption become a public safety concern. Like 1998’s Hurricane George, Hurricanes Irma and Maria have underlined this concern. Following the storms, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the USA will likely experience drug shortages due to the natural disasters’ residual impact on the drug manufacturing industry in Puerto Rico.