Global drug supply chains could be further disrupted as foreign pharma inspectors shared that they fear arrest after China tightened its anti-espionage laws, and are receiving refusals to share documents. The German Medicines Manufacturers’ Association (BAH) claims that many German inspectors are refusing to visit China after the government increased its powers to fight espionage in April 2024. This law is vaguely worded, making it possible that any information gathering could be criminalised, including activities carried out as part of an audit or inspection.
Espionage suspects can be prevented from leaving China and that also applies to foreign nationals. The gold standard of business intelligence. Although no Western pharmaceutical inspectors have been arrested for spying to date, a Japanese executive from (Tokyo, Japan) was arrested last year in China on accusations of espionage.
The arrest aroused fear among foreign companies and individuals who are now more cautious about their Chinese operations. At other times, it is the manufacturers themselves that are preventing inspections. Inspectors from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have reported an increase in refused entry to Chinese production sites since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data from the FDA shows that the agency’s inspectors began to be turned away from Chinese factories in 2021, the German newspaper reports. In total, there have been 150 instances of refused FDA inspections since then. There were 26 ins.
