Covid Alarm in China: Cities Scurry to Bolster Ibuprofen Supply to Aid Virus-Infected Patients

Following a wave of protests where citizens were fed up with rigorous lockdowns, extensive testing, and quarantines, China lifted its Covid-19 restrictions earlier this month, which has led to an enormous increase in coronavirus cases. According to press reports, China recorded two deaths in the third week of December. These were the country's first confirmed fatalities following the government's decision to renounce its "zero-Covid" approach and relax pandemic restrictions. However, if stories coming out of China are to be believed, the actual number of fatalities could be much higher.

Ibuprofen has become one of the most challenging drugs to obtain as more people contract the quickly proliferating Omicron virus, but the situation is improving as more Chinese towns increase supplies in response to the rising demand for the drug. Jiangsu province's capital, Nanjing, announced on Monday, December 19, that it will be releasing two million Ibuprofen tablets into the market each day. Starting on Monday, December 19, 153 retail pharmacies will provide tablets that have been taken out of boxes, with each customer entitled to buy a maximum of six tablets.

The weekend before last, CR Hubei Pharmaceutical Co. announced that 3 million Ibuprofen tablets would be distributed every day for a week in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in China. Of which, 80 percent will be given to medical facilities and 20 percent to retail pharmacies. Hubei province has also increased production this month and disclosed a decrease in Ibuprofen prices. According to a notification released by the Healthcare Security Administration of Hubei province, starting on Tuesday, December 20, a total of 21 items, including Ibuprofen, will be less expensive.

Regardless of the fact that 558 domestic companies have obtained registration approval documents for Ibuprofen, there are only two significant domestic producers of Ibuprofen raw materials: Hubei Biocause Group and Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which together produce close to 40% of the country's Ibuprofen. "The company's Ibuprofen raw materials have all been requisitioned by pertinent government authorities, and the company now has no Ibuprofen raw materials to offer to the market," Hubei Biocause Group stated on Monday, December 19.

ChemAnalyst reports that Chinese officials are scrambling and proposing a number of steps to increase Ibuprofen supplies in order to meet the total demand from patients who have been exposed to the virus. ChemAnalyst experts further forecast that there will be sufficient Ibuprofen stock with the domestic manufacturers and suppliers in the upcoming weeks.