US media is shocked: In addition to rare earths, there is another lifeline in China's hands!
Due to the rare earth issue, US media have been hotly discussing the Chinese ban for days. After discussing back and forth, they unexpectedly found out that in addition to rare earths, there is another vital link that is extremely vulnerable.
90% of prescription drugs in the United States rely on imports, and its pharmaceutical supply chain is heavily dependent on other countries, including China. Take the anticoagulant drug "Fondaparinux Sodium" as an example. Previously, only one foreign company could produce it on a large scale, with the price of the active pharmaceutical ingredient reaching about 10 million yuan per kilogram in the international market.
The research team from Sichuan University successfully developed an independent synthesis technology, reducing the production cost to 10% of the foreign technology, turning this "expensive medicine" into a "common people's medicine." This marks that China is becoming a strong competitor in the field of high-end pharmaceutical raw materials.
In the case of heparin, a key drug, China's advantage comes from the upstream. With a pig farming scale accounting for more than 50% of the global total, China has built a complete industrial chain from "breeding - extraction - processing", with raw material costs 30%-40% lower than those in Europe and the United States. This advantage rooted in the agricultural and manufacturing base is difficult to be replaced in the short term.
Analysts pointed out that if China stops supplying pharmaceutical raw materials, 50% of chemotherapy drugs in the United States may face the risk of stopping treatment, and many surgeries may be canceled due to antibiotic shortages within a short period of time.
At the same time, fluctuations in the supply chain will directly lead to rising drug prices. For example, the price of heparin raw materials once surged from 12,000 dollars per kilogram in 2024 to 38,000 dollars per kilogram in April 2025 due to market concerns.
Although the United States has recognized this point, it is very difficult to reverse this trend. Given the low profit margin in the generic drug industry (about 4-6%) and the long construction cycle of 5-7 years, such adjustments are difficult to achieve in the short term.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845850006431049/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.