Pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico

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The pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico encompasses more than half of all manufacturing done in Puerto Rico. As the island's most prominent industry, pharmaceutics generates more than 18,000 jobs, pays more than US$3 billion in taxes, comprises about half of total exports, and has generated more than 25% of the island's GDP for the past four decades. [1] Comparatively, Puerto Rico is the fifth largest area in the world for pharmaceutical manufacturing with more than 80 plants, including:

Pharmaceutical companies originally came to Puerto Rico in the late 1960s and 1970s to take advantage of the now-expired federal tax incentive known as Section 936. This incentive allowed U.S.-based manufacturers to send all profits from local plants to stateside parent plants without having to pay any federal taxes.

Several developments in the market, however, pose a challenge to the industry. These challenges include expired patents, cheaper manufacturers (such as those in Brazil, China, India, and South Korea), the rise of generic drugs, and high production costs. [1]

In terms of market share, as of 2014, Puerto Rico produces sixteen of the top twenty selling drugs in the mainland United States. [2]

As a result of critical shortages of imported material during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States efforts were made by Trump and other politicians to reincentivize Puerto Rican pharmaceutical production. [3]

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The economy of the United States Virgin Islands is primarily dependent upon tourism, trade, and other services, accounting for nearly 60% of the Virgin Island's GDP and about half of total civilian employment. Close to two million tourists per year visit the islands. The government is the single largest employer. The agriculture sector is small, with most food being imported. The manufacturing sector consists of rum distilling, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. Rum production is significant. Shipments during a six-month period of fiscal year 2016 totaled 8,136.6 million proof gallons.

Generic drug Pharmaceutical equivalent to a brand-name product

A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active chemical substance is the same, the medical profile of generics is believed to be equivalent in performance. A generic drug has the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) as the original, but it may differ in some characteristics such as the manufacturing process, formulation, excipients, color, taste, and packaging.

An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent developed to treat medical conditions which, because they are so rare, would not be profitable to produce without government assistance. The conditions are referred to as orphan diseases.

Pharmaceutical industry Industry involved with development, production and marketing of drugs

The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients, with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate symptoms. Pharmaceutical companies may deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices. They are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that govern the patenting, testing, safety, efficacy using drug testing and marketing of drugs. The global pharmaceuticals market produced treatments worth $1,228.45 billion in 2020 and showed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8%.

Operation Bootstrap is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one. The federal government of the United States together with what is known today as the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company set forth a series of ambitious economical projects that evolved Puerto Rico into an industrial high-income territory. Bootstrap is still considered the economic model of Puerto Rico as the island has still not been able to evolve into a knowledge economy.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the leading industries in the People's Republic of China, covering synthetic chemicals and drugs, prepared Chinese medicines, medical devices, apparatus and instruments, hygiene materials, packing materials, and pharmaceutical machinery. China has the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world as of 2017 which is worth US$110 billion. China accounts for 20% of the world's population but only a small fraction of the global drug market. China's changing health-care environment is designed to extend basic health insurance to a larger portion of the population and give individuals greater access to products and services. Following the period of change, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue its expansion.

The pharmaceutical industry in India was valued at an estimated US$42 billion in 2021. India is the world's third largest provider of generic medicines by volume, with a 20% share of total global pharmaceutical exports. It is also the largest vaccine supplier in the world by volume, accounting for more than 50% of all vaccines manufactured in the world. With industry standards compliant mega production capabilities and large number of skilled domestic workforce, Indian exports meet the standards and requirements of highly regulated markets of USA, UK, European Union and Canada. According to the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, domestic pharmaceutical market turnover reached Rs 129,015 crore in 2018, growing 9.4 per cent year-on-year and exports revenue was US$17.28 billion in FY18 and US$19.14 billion in FY19.

Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act US law

The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, informally known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, is a 1984 United States federal law that encourages the manufacture of generic drugs by the pharmaceutical industry and established the modern system of government generic drug regulation in the United States. Representative Henry Waxman of California and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah sponsored the act.

Tariffs have historically served a key role in the trade policy of the United States. Their purpose was to generate revenue for the federal government and to allow for import substitution industrialization by acting as a protective barrier around infant industries. They also aimed to reduce the trade deficit and the pressure of foreign competition. Tariffs were one of the pillars of the American System that allowed the rapid development and industrialization of the United States. The United States pursued a protectionist policy from the beginning of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century. Between 1861 and 1933, they had one of the highest average tariff rates on manufactured imports in the world. However American agricultural and industrial were cheaper than rival products and the tariff had an impact primarily on wool products. After 1942 the U.S. promoted worldwide free trade.

Endo International plc is an American Irish-domiciled generics and specialty branded pharmaceutical company that generated over 93% of its 2017 sales from the U.S. healthcare system. While Endo's management, operations, and customers are almost exclusively U.S.–based, in 2013 Endo executed a corporate tax inversion to Ireland to avoid U.S. corporate taxes on their U.S. drug sales, and to avail of Ireland's corporate tax system.

Edison Electric Institute American trade group

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies.

Economy of Puerto Rico Classified as a high income economy by the World Bank

The economy of Puerto Rico is classified as a high income economy by the World Bank and as the most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum. The main drivers of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing, primarily pharmaceuticals, textiles, petrochemicals, and electronics; followed by the service industry, notably finance, insurance, real estate, and tourism. The geography of Puerto Rico and its political status are both determining factors on its economic prosperity, primarily due to its relatively small size as an island; its lack of natural resources used to produce raw materials, and, consequently, its dependence on imports; as well as its relationship with the United States federal government, which controls its foreign policies while exerting trading restrictions, particularly in its shipping industry.

Taxation in Puerto Rico consists of taxes paid to the United States federal government and taxes paid to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Payment of taxes to the federal government, both personal and corporate, is done through the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS), while payment of taxes to the Commonwealth government is done through the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury.

Green Puerto Rico Series of green reforms

Green Puerto Rico is an umbrella term used to describe a pair of sustainable and renewable energy reforms that were signed into law on July 19, 2010 by Luis Fortuño during his governance of Puerto Rico. Two principle policies were developed in an effort to improve the Puerto Rican economy and to protect the environment. The first was aimed at decreasing Puerto Rico’s energy dependence on fossil fuels and increasing the development and ultimate use of renewable energy sources. This policy is titled Public Policy on Energy Diversification by Means of Sustainable and Alternative Renewable Energy in Puerto Rico Act. The second policy focuses on long-term economic savings and is titled the Green Energy Incentives Act of Puerto Rico. Both acts were designed to foster development and use of renewable energy sources to replace non-renewable energy sources such as oil. Energy policy in Puerto Rico has traditionally emphasized oil, but has made some strides over the last two decades with Green Puerto Rico which is an important step towards development and implementation of renewable energy in Puerto Rico.

Orphan Drug Act of 1983 Law passed in the United States to facilitate development of orphan drugs

The Orphan Drug Act of 1983 is a law passed in the United States to facilitate development of orphan drugs—drugs for rare diseases such as Huntington's disease, myoclonus, ALS, Tourette syndrome and muscular dystrophy which affect small numbers of individuals residing in the United States.

Teva api is an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Israel. teva api is a stand-alone business unit of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries limited, the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world and one of the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Manufacturing in Puerto Rico is the largest economic sector in the economy of Puerto Rico; composing almost half of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Puerto Rico. All manufacturers in Puerto Rico are in some way interconnected with the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) which provides substantial incentives for companies that manufacture in Puerto Rico. Manufacturers are also voluntarily interconnected through the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association which serves as their primary trade association and their main lobby group upon the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. Most manufacturing in Puerto Rico today is the product of Operation Bootstrap.

The Puerto Rican government-debt crisis was a financial crisis affecting the government of Puerto Rico. The crisis began in 2014 when three major credit agencies downgraded several bond issues by Puerto Rico to "junk status" after the government was unable to demonstrate that it could pay its debt. The downgrading, in turn, prevented the government from selling more bonds in the open market. Unable to obtain the funding to cover its budget imbalance, the government began using its savings to pay its debt while warning that those savings would eventually be exhausted. To prevent such a scenario, the United States Congress enacted a law known as PROMESA, which appointed an oversight board with ultimate control over the Commonwealth's budget. As the PROMESA board began to exert that control, the government sought to increase revenues and reduce its expenses by increasing taxes while curtailing public services and reducing government pensions. Those measures further compounded the crisis by provoking social distrust and unrest. In August 2018, a debt investigation report of the Financial Oversight and management board for Puerto Rico reported the Commonwealth had $74 billion in bond debt and $49 billion in unfunded pension liabilities as of May 2017. Puerto Rico officially exited bankruptcy on March 15, 2022.

Economics of vaccines

Vaccine development and production is economically complex and prone to market failure. Many of the diseases most demanding a vaccine, including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, exist principally in poor countries. Pharmaceutical firms and biotechnology companies have little incentive to develop vaccines for these diseases because there is little revenue potential. Even in more affluent countries, financial returns are usually minimal and the financial and other risks are great.

References

  1. 1 2 "La industria farmacéutica domina la manufactura en Puerto Rico – Microjuris - Puerto Rico". Aldia.microjuris.com. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
  2. Casiano Communications. "Caribbean Business". caribbeanbusinesspr.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  3. Washington Examiner Trump unveils 13b for Puerto Rico and pushes return of islands drug manufacturing