Europe’s dependence on China for antibiotics has become a threat to public health and security, according to the chief executive of Sandoz, one of the last remaining producers of the medicines in Europe.
Richard Saynor said the continent risked becoming reliant on Asian suppliers as Chinese manufacturers strengthened their dominance of the global market for antibiotic ingredients.
“We’re now the last remaining penicillin manufacturer left in the Western world,” Saynor said. “Do you really want to be in a world where all of your antibiotics come from Asian suppliers? I don’t think you do.”
Sandoz operates a €150 million factory in Kundl, Austria, which it describes as Europe’s only fully integrated antibiotic manufacturing facility. The site produces active ingredients and turns them into medicines ready for patients.
China accounted for 86% of European Union imports of penicillins and their derivatives last year, up from 44% in 2019. China is now the world’s largest exporter of antibiotic ingredients.
In written evidence to UK lawmakers, Sandoz warned that Europe’s reliance on China represented an “Achilles heel” for public health and defence. It said restrictions on supply could become a tool of “economic coercion or hybrid warfare” during periods of diplomatic tension.
The company has also alleged that “market-distorting behavior” has allowed Chinese manufacturers to undercut competitors and flood global markets with exceptionally cheap pharmaceutical ingredients.
In May, Sandoz asked the European Commission to launch an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese imports of the active ingredient used to make amoxicillin.
“We’re competing with heavily subsidized Asian players,” Saynor said. “We want a level playing field.”
Calls for governments to pay more for antibiotics
Saynor said the EU’s Critical Medicines Act, provisionally approved in May, was a move in the right direction. The legislation aims to improve the availability and production of important medicines, including antibiotics and painkillers, across Europe.
However, he questioned whether governments would accept the higher prices needed to maintain European production. “What’s not clear is how that then translates into European governments paying a little bit more for these drugs,” he said.
The NHS pays £1.06 for a 21-pack of 250mg amoxicillin capsules, according to the British National Formulary. Saynor asked: “Why should we sell a pack of antibiotics more cheaply than a Mars bar?”
“Do we value a Mars bar more than the medicine that has saved more lives than any other invention?” he said. “Governments are very good at seeing the price, but they don’t necessarily see the value.”
Sandoz specialises in generic and biosimilar medicines, which are designed to offer the same clinical effectiveness as branded drugs while costing health services less. The company says generic medicines account for 80% of all medicines used globally.
It estimates that patents covering medicines worth $650 billion will expire over the next decade, creating what Saynor calls an “unprecedented golden decade” for biosimilar drugs.
Last month, Sandoz said it aimed to produce more than 100 biosimilar products by 2040, compared with 13 currently. It estimates that bringing those medicines to market could generate almost $1 trillion in social impact, including direct savings for healthcare systems.
The company has invested $300 billion in a new drug-substance facility in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to support the expansion. Saynor said Sandoz’s separation from Novartis in 2023 had helped it pursue a different role in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Our job is to challenge patents and bring products to market as early as possible,” he said, contrasting Sandoz’s approach with that of pharmaceutical companies seeking to protect their patents.
Saynor said the company was also bringing leaders from outside pharmaceuticals into its senior team as it confronts Chinese competition and seeks to expand. “I don’t have all the answers as CEO,” he said. “We need different points of view to challenge our thinking.”
