Hurricane Damage in Puerto Rico Leads to Fears of Drug Shortages Nationwide
“Because if there is an electricity shortage well into November, for example, how can we as an industry make
sure we are in line for those priorities, once you’ve taken care of hospitals and essential needs?”
While AdvaMed has outlined its members’ challenges, its pharmaceutical counterpart — the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — provided fewer specifics and referred questions to Healthcare Ready, an industry group
that is coordinating the recovery operations in Puerto Rico.
With business of nearly $15 billion a year at stake in Puerto Rico, drug companies
and device makers are confronting a range of obstacles on the island: locating enough diesel fuel for generators to run their factories; helping their employees get to work from areas where roads are damaged and blocked, electricity is down and phones don’t work.
Wilberto Maldonado, a pharmaceutical consultant in Puerto Rico, said drug
and device makers were navigating a logistical “nightmare,” especially when trying to get access to fuel for their generators.
Puerto Rico has been a hub of drug manufacturing for decades — companies were lured to the island because of tax breaks
and its access to the United States market, along with skilled employees who worked for lower wages.
“Everybody is struggling to get diesel fuel — that’s just widespread,” said Antonio Medina, an independent consultant who until last
year was executive director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, a government-run group that promotes manufacturing.