The ripple effects of Middle East-driven crude oil supply restrictions are spreading to the healthcare sector. Growing concerns over supply disruptions of synthetic resin-based medical consumables and devices — made from naphtha extracted from crude oil, including disposable syringes, surgical gloves and IV fluid containers — have triggered hoarding.
Korea Vaccine recently notified medical institutions that it will raise prices on all disposable syringe and needle products by 15 to 20 percent for two months starting this month, according to the medical community on Wednesday.
Korea Vaccine is one of the three dominant players — alongside Shinchang Medical and Becton Dickinson Korea — that together hold approximately 80 percent of the domestic market for medical consumables such as syringes. The company said price increases and supply restrictions are unavoidable given the surge in raw material costs, as disposable syringes and needles are synthetic resin products made by polymerizing naphtha into materials such as polypropylene (PP).
