Following the recent news that The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended investigators from China in light of the increasing number of coronavirus cases;

Angad Lotay, MPharm, Infectious Diseases Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, provides his view: 

“The FDA’s suspended service will disrupt the export of food, devices and drugs flowing from China to the U.S. and consequently the agency have warned Americans that they might face shortages of critical medical products if the outbreak persists.

“China is highly integrated within the global economy and has impressive transportation networks, which means that supply chain disruptions go far beyond regional concerns. With the coronavirus epidemic still on the rise, global supply chains are being disrupted with many industries having to draw up contingency plans.

“Although it may be difficult to predict the exact consequences of COVID-19, organizations are planning for supply shortages of materials routed from logistical hubs in impacted areas as well as labor supply issues due to quarantine procedures or illness. Furthermore, travel may be restricted to certain areas, thereby limiting business transactions, all of which may see consumers seeking alternative sources of supply.

“Businesses throughout the world will see some disruption to supply chains as a result of the coronavirus with some struggling to meet their contractual obligations as a result. For these businesses leveraging the contractual shield of ‘force majeure’ maybe the only way of minimizing the overall impact of the outbreak.”