Made in Europe - assessing the feasibility of reshoring active pharmaceutical ingredient production to Europe

As global reliance on Asian production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) grows, the relocation of API production to Europe (reshoring) has been discussed as a potential solution to decrease dependency on Asia and potentially prevent future medicine shortages. However, it is not yet well understood whether its implementation would be feasible, and under which conditions.

This study aims to explore expert and stakeholder assessment of the feasibility of reshoring API production to Europe based on identified barriers, enablers and prerequisites for implementing this measure.

A literature review of peer-reviewed articles and grey literature was complemented by focus group interviews with stakeholders from Austria, France, and Spain, representing policy-makers, industry, and researchers.

The findings suggest that reshoring is considered feasible if certain conditions are met, such as financial incentives and committed stakeholder support. A coordinated European policy approach and advancements in production technologies are perceived as further enabling factors. However, challenges such as higher production costs and perceived lower profits in Europe compared to Asian markets may impede the reshoring of API production. The stakeholders' assessments also varied across countries: French and Spanish stakeholders considered reshoring as realistic, whereas Austrian stakeholders tended to be more hesitant. Stakeholders of all studied countries stressed the importance of strengthening existing local API production.

While reshoring may increase the resilience of the supply chain, it is rather a supportive measure for supply chain stability than a standalone solution to prevent medicine shortages.