The United States led the world in pharmaceutical imports in 2020, with acquisitions of $ 139.518 million.
For this group of products it was a record external purchases and an increase of 8.8% year-on-year.
Among the largest suppliers of U.S. pharmaceutical imports were: Ireland ($ 27.6 billion), Germany ($ 20.2 billion), Switzerland ($ 17.7 billion), Belgium ($ 10.2 billion), and India ($ 8.4 billion).
Conversely, the United States exported pharmaceutical products worth $ 53.939 billion in 2020, an increase of 1.6% annually.
The pharmaceutical industry is made up of companies dedicated to the research, development, manufacture and distribution of medicines for human or veterinary use.
Among the pharmaceutical products most imported by the United States are retail drugs, immune products, antisera, and vaccines.
Across the globe, new drugs have a huge positive influence on global health, prosperity and economic productivity by saving lives, increasing life expectancy, reducing suffering, preventing surgery and shortening hospital stays.
Thus, advances in medicine have eliminated deadly diseases and controlled other life-threatening conditions.
Today, according to the Department of Commerce, drug therapy is an integral part of almost every facet of healthcare, and new advancements promise to revolutionize the treatment of noncommunicable diseases.
Pharmaceutical products
Likewise, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most regulated sectors in the world.
Medications are evaluated for their safety, efficacy, quality of manufacture, misleading product claims, and illegal incentives to choose a particular drug.
According to Pfizer, the US healthcare industry is highly regulated and subject to frequent and substantial changes.
Regulatory approvals of products depend on a myriad of factors, including a regulator that determines whether a product is safe and effective.
In the context of public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic, regulators evaluate various factors and criteria to potentially allow marketing authorization in the event of an emergency.
In addition, data from clinical trials and other products are subject to different interpretations and evaluations by regulatory authorities.
