Sandoz : New report highlights growing threat to sustainable European supply of system-critical antibiotics, calls for urgent policy reform

10/11/2025

New report highlights growing threat to sustainable European supply of system-critical antibiotics, calls for urgent policy reform

• Antibiotics are backbone of modern medicine but reliable access increasingly at risk, with patients across Europe already experiencing impact of supply failures
• Crisis driven by combination of excessive cost focus, unequal global competition, underinvestment and growing geopolitical dependence
• Supply risks also undermine efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), creating unsustainable pressure for overstretched healthcare systems

A report published today by healthcare consultancy Newmarket Strategy highlights the growing threat to sustainable European supply of system-critical antibiotics - particularly penicillins, the leading category of antibiotic worldwide.
Richard Saynor, CEO of Sandoz, who sponsored the report, says: "Antibiotics are among the most powerful tools in modern medicine, but reliable access to them is increasingly at risk. Patients across Europe are already experiencing the impact of supply failures, from delayed treatment to avoidable harm.

"This paper offers a clear, policy-led path forward, from smarter procurement and stronger regional manufacturing to aligned regulation and broader public-private collaboration. By acting now, we can protect supply, support stewardship and secure access for every patient who needs these vital medicines - not only today, but for generations to come."

In recent years, Europe has experienced two major disruptions to penicillin supply - most recently during the winter of 2022-23, when a penicillin shortage resulted in inflated prices, delayed or cancelled treatments and 491 avoidable deaths in England¹.

The report identifies four major drivers of the current crisis: excessive cost focus in generic procurement procedures, increasingly unequal global competition, underinvestment in ensuring access to existing treatments and growing dependence on a handful of largely Asian suppliers.

It includes endorsements from both Lord Ara Darzi, President of the Fleming Initiative, and Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy for AMR.

The full report (in two versions) is available here: https://newmarket-strategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Sandoz_Whitepaper_EU_VERSION.pdfhttps://newmarket-strategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Sandoz_Whitepaper_UK_VERSION.pdf