Virus Likely Curtailed China Drug Output, Raising Shortage Fears

Drug manufacturers in China may have cut production by almost 40% early this year as the novel coronavirus spread there, according to a U.S.-based group that supplies the basic tools for testing the quality of many medicines.

China is the backbone of the world’s drug supply. Any disruption in the country’s output could result in shortages of medications that will be in high demand as the U.S. grapples with Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Each year, United States Pharmacopeia typically sends 850,000 tiny brown bottles to drugmakers and researchers around the world of some 4,000 chemicals used ...