Korea's pharmaceutical industry is actively working to prevent hoarding of medicines by hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. Despite a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, concerns over potential shortages of pharmaceutical packaging materials have emerged as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, raising the possibility of excessive ordering by some customers.
According to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry on January 12, Yuhan Corporation has required approval from sales department heads since last week for orders exceeding 200 units (10 boxes) of acetaminophen, a widely used injectable fever and pain reliever. The measure aims to strengthen inventory management after signs of hoarding emerged at some hospitals and clinics concerned about naphtha supply disruptions, particularly for acetaminophen in IV bag form. Yuhan Corporation also requires approval for orders of other IV solutions exceeding 500 units (50 boxes).
Hanmi Pharm Group is limiting supply of JVM automatic dispensing machine packaging materials based on each pharmacy's average usage over the previous three months.
These are temporary order restriction measures designed to prevent artificial demand and supply concentration that could arise from uncertainty in the supply of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), a key raw material for packaging, while ensuring fair ordering for all customers.
HK inno.N, an IV solution supplier, is adjusting some excessive orders to ensure appropriate volumes are supplied to all customers. As order processing through internal systems now takes approximately two hours longer than usual, the company has temporarily changed order processing times in response.
JW Pharmaceutical also plans to restrict wholesale shipments of nutritional IV solutions and prohibit excessive in-hospital purchasing if hoarding or over-ordering occurs.
According to the government, large hospitals maintain two to three months' worth of medical product inventory, while clinic-level medical institutions do not stock relatively inexpensive items such as IV solutions in advance. This has led to supply concerns being raised in some regions recently.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held an on-site meeting on January 2 with IV solution manufacturers including JW Pharmaceutical, HK inno.N, and Green Cross MS to ensure stable supply of essential medicines. The ministry followed up with meetings with syringe, needle, and packaging material manufacturers on January 6, and with IV set manufacturers on January 8.
"Bag film is essential for manufacturing IV bags, making it impossible to use alternative containers, so we are making all-out efforts to secure inventory," a pharmaceutical industry official said. "Supply disruptions are not yet severe, but companies are taking a temporarily conservative approach until the supply of naphtha and other materials stabilizes."
