Urgent Bulletin

As drug shortages reach unprecedented levels in the US and worldwide, understanding their causes is crucial for developing effective solutions. At QYOBO, we analyzed the relationship between drug shortages and net sales prices for drug manufacturers in the US market...

16 May 2024, Munich – In a recent study by CPHI, nearly half of the respondents perceived a significant increase in API prices in the last 5 years and a third noted a slight increase. This subjective assessment prompted us to run a quantitative, datadriven assessment on API prices. Leveraging the pricing insights on the QYOBO platform, we analyzed 1,000 key APIs and how their prices have changed in the last 5 years (pre- vs. post- COVID-19) and year-on-year, comparing 2023 vs. 2022...

11 October 2023, Munich – In previous articles, we often addressed the prevalent issue of drug shortages, which made waves in 2022 and continued gaining momentum in 2023. Developing our upcoming “Drug shortage module” for the QYOBO platform, we learned that it’s usually a mix of reasons causing major disruptions. One of these reasons is the violation of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)...

31 August 2023, Munich – The average global price (dark blue line) of semaglutide API decreased by 72% (Figure 1) over the last five years, from 3,000K USD/kg to 843K USD/kg. The most competitive prices (“lower 20% on the QYOBO platform represented as a green line) within the market reached a record low of 134K USD/kg in 2023....

09 August 2023, Munich – “Other than Viagra and Botox, I’ve seen no other medication so quickly become part of modern culture’s social vernacular,” – reports Paul Jarrod Frank, a surgeon in New York about Ozempic developed by Novo Nordisk. Patients perceive it as a “miracle drug” for weight loss, especially after several celebrities promoted it on social media...

18 July 2023, Munich – In general, a higher price level of European APIs is not a major surprise because the continent is generally associated with higher production costs and stringent quality standards. In this analysis, we examine whether the two aspects - higher prices and compliance (reflecting higher quality standards) - have a quantifiable correlation not only for Europe but also on a global level...

13 June 2023, Munich – Our previous analysis of 2023 API prices for 300 molecules showed a substantial price drop compared to 2022. Following the publication, several of our clients reached out to us, asking if a detailed analysis of the European market would be possible to understand how inflation, the energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine still affect the continent...

27 April 2023, Munich – Impetiously growing inflation was a critical issue for the pharmaceutical industry in 2022. Although inflation is decreasing in many parts of the world in 2023, some industry leaders are setting the expectation that high prices are here to stay. Using the QYOBO platform, we conducted our own analysis of current price trends...

28 March 2023, Munich – Severe violations of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) resulting in FDA warning letters put additional strain on pharmaceutical supply chains, with a potentially compounding impact on drug shortages...To swiftly react or even predict non-compliance events like warning letters, companies need to be able to effectively and quickly analyze suppliers for their products, including their manufacturing sites. QYOBO and Qualifyze position their clients for success regarding non-compliance preparedness, by providing well-structured, up-to-date, high-quality inspection and audit data.

28 February 2023, Munich – To support pharmaceutical companies gain an overview on their own supply chain risks and increase their resilience, in Q4/2022, two European tech companies, QYOBO and Qualifyze, established a connection between their databases....

8 February 2023, Munich – A rise in severe cases of infections caused by Strep A, with several children dying from the disease, was announced this winter by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization. The antibiotic amoxicillin – used for treating Strep A as well as other infections of the respiratory and urinary tract and skin – is now in short supply...

25 October 2022, Munich - With inflation all over the news, it is only natural that most companies expect their input prices to increase. An article published by The Economist a few months ago shows that this will likely be an enduring phenomenon. In our last article published on September 8th, we hinted that a more optimistic outlook may be merited for the API market...Ever since, we’ve updated the index on a monthly basis using the latest market prices from the QYOBO platform. Based on July data, the index showed a slight relaxation down to 5.1% (vs. the previously recorded 5.2% in April). August data – indicating another slight decrease to 5.0% – further supports this trend...

8 September 2022, Munich - Hence it does not come as a surprise that the most common question we’ve received from our clients over the course of this year was: “How is inflation affecting API prices, are you seeing similar price increases compared to overall inflation?” To answer this question QYOBO created the “QYOBO 300 index” tracking the prices of the 300 APIs most commonly analyzed by our users on the QYOBO platform...

31 March 2022, Munich - Hence one may assume that the additional demand resulting from UDCA treatment during the corona pandemic would drive prices upwards. However, a brief market price analysis in the QYOBO platform shows an opposite picture...

14 March 2022, Munich - Since Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine started about two weeks ago, several of our partners asked if we can help them assess the risk of supply chain disruptions....

15 December 2021, Munich - 2060 - By this time, China plans to be climate neutral.1 One step towards this goal is the dual control of energy consumption policy, that’s been renewed by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in 2021. The Chinese government ordered the suspension of production and limited electricity by high-energy consuming industries, which led to shutdowns and power cuts in several Chinese provinces...

20 October 2021, Munich - Whether it’s fever, pain or inflammation - For all these complaints ibuprofen is a first choice medication. Therefore it’s no surprise that the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) has been on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of essential medicines since 1977 and is a commonly used drug within the population.

17 August 2021, Munich - In 2018, there was a shortage of life-saving blood pressure drugs for several months following a voluntary recall announcement by the FDA for medical products containing valsartan. The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) was contaminated with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which could cause cancer...

28 July 2021, Munich - When Dr. Baruch Bloomberg discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1965, he might not have assumed how many lives he would save in the future by developing a diagnostic test and vaccine against the virus...

04 May 2021, Munich - In 2020, prices for paracetamol increased for two main reasons - trade restrictions such as factory shutdowns and export restrictions and a spike in demand as the drug was considered the most effective analgesics treatment for CoViD-19 infections. Towards the end of 2020, an incident at one of the few remaining manufacturing sites of 4-aminophenol, a paracetamol intermediate occurred...

14 April 2021, Munich - Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological disorders with around 50 million people living with this diagnosis. One key medication to treat epilepsy is levetiracetam...

02 February 2021, Munich - In spring 2020, when the corona pandemic started spreading around the globe, many efforts were made to treat infected patients with existing drugs. Especially paracetamol made headlines due to recommendations by several governments and the World Health Organization.

04 November 2020, Munich - Macrolides and cephalosporins are some of the most commonly used antibiotics. During the CoViD‐19 crisis, several of these APIs like azithromycin and cefuroxime turned out to be effective in the treatment of patients infected with CoViD‐19...

22 September 2020, Munich - Losartan API prices tripled in a very short period while it was considered as a potential CoViD-19 remedy earlier this year. Other related substances have fared rather stable throughout the crisis, and one well-known “sartan” never recovered from its NDMA scandal in 2018...

20 August 2020, Munich - Prices for penicillins increased by 14-20 % during the first half of 2020 with prices for some penicillin APIs “shooting up” more than 40 %. Governments worldwide have undertaken efforts to decrease reliance on API imports from Asia...

18 June 2020, Munich - British scientists from Oxford University published a study about Dexamethasone demonstrating positive effects on patients requiring ventilation due to a corona infection...

14 May 2020, Munich - Primarily driven by lower prices for APIs manufacturing has mainly moved to India and China. The corona crisis could become a turning point for the pharmaceutical industry...

29 April 2020, Munich - Shortly after the outbreak of the corona crisis, scientists started to test existing drugs as potential remedies. Two malaria drugs received particular attention and widespread media coverage...

22 March 2020, Munich - Remedies against HIV, Malaria or high blood pressure are under evaluation in the fight of COVID-19. If proven effective...