- The UK’s supply chains for critical medical countermeasures are currently less resilient than they were at the start of COVID-19.
- Five key recommendations—including national strategy development, improved supply chain visibility, and domestic manufacturing—could dramatically boost resilience.
- Existing weaknesses put lives at risk in the event of future pandemics, deliberate biological attacks, or major drug shortages.
As public health systems around the world remain focused on post-COVID recovery and future pandemic preparedness, a newly published report from the Centre for Long-Term Resilience sounds the alarm on a less visible, but equally critical, threat: the brittleness of the UK’s medical countermeasure supply chains.
Titled “Boosting UK supply chain resilience to mitigate catastrophic biological risks”, the March 2025 report reveals that the UK is now in a worse position to respond to biological threats than it was in early 2020. Ironically, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the country avoided critical shortages of medicines not because of preparedness, but because of buffer stocks intended for Brexit disruptions. Those reserves are now depleted, and no system is in place to replace them.
“The best time to bolster UK supply chain resilience for medical countermeasures was yesterday. The second best time is now.” — Centre for Long-Term Resilience
For those working in global health security, emergency preparedness, and public health policy, the message is clear: resilience in supply chains for medical countermeasures—vaccines, diagnostics, antimicrobials—is no longer optional. It is urgent.
Supply Chain Resilience Has Deteriorated Since COVID-19
Despite the devastating toll of the pandemic, with over 200,000 deaths in the UK alone, little progress has been made to strengthen supply chains for medical countermeasures. The absence of medicine shortages during COVID-19 was a fluke—not the result of robust systems.
Five-Point Action Plan for the UK Government
The report outlines five concrete, actionable recommendations for improving resilience:
- Develop a Government Strategy: A coordinated, cross-departmental roadmap for securing critical medical supplies.
- Increase Supply Chain Visibility and Transparency: Real-time data sharing between government and industry to monitor vulnerabilities.
- Diversify Supply Sources: Reduce reliance on single-country or single-factory suppliers for essential components.
- Reshore and Expand UK Manufacturing: Stimulate domestic production of medical countermeasures to build resilience and create jobs.
- Establish a Stockpiling Taskforce: Form a public-private working group to answer unresolved questions about what to stockpile, how, and where.
Economic Opportunity Aligned with Health Security
Rebuilding domestic life sciences manufacturing offers dual benefits: preparedness for future pandemics and long-term economic growth. Between 2009 and 2021, the UK lost 7,000 high-skilled jobs in life sciences manufacturing—a trend that could be reversed through targeted investment and policy reform.
The Transparency Gap Must Be Closed
A lack of supply chain visibility—especially around sources of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)—hinders rapid response. The authors advocate for a national data platform to monitor stocks, forecast shortages, and enable oversight across departments.
Resilience is a Public Good That Requires Government Leadership
While some improvements can come from industry, the complexity and public importance of medical countermeasures demand government coordination and, where appropriate, direct investment. Critically, many of the report’s recommendations require little to no new spending but depend instead on strategic alignment and policy prioritisation.
Implications for Public Health and Global Health Security
For public health professionals and global health security leaders, this report is a call to elevate supply chain resilience as a core component of preparedness planning. Effective pandemic response is not just about having vaccines and treatments—but about having the means to produce, procure, and distribute them reliably under pressure.
Transparency, multisectoral collaboration, and strategic investment are foundational to health systems that can endure biological shocks. The UK’s experience offers both a cautionary tale and a potential model for other nations seeking to bolster their own resilience.
For detailed recommendations, stakeholder insights, and further analysis, read the full report at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience.