Focus Report: Puerto Rico

A Story of Resilience

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 is a day still fresh in every Puerto Rican’s mind. On this day, Hurricane Maria arrived in Puerto Rico, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane on record to strike the US territory. Despite the magnitude of the event and the disruption it caused to the energy, water, and telecommunications infrastructure, the supply of medical products from Puerto Rico was only minimally affected without any shortage reported.

“The natural disasters we experienced in 2017 were tragic but showed the commitment and resilience of the Puerto Rican workforce. Most companies resumed with their operations only one or two weeks after the hurricanes, while some never stopped producing at all,” proudly recalls Manuel A. Laboy Rivera, secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce and executive director of Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO).

“There is a big misconception that there were supply issues or stockouts-this was not the case,” adds Ivan Lugo, president of INDUNIV, a nonprofit organization representing industry, gov­ernment, and the academic sector in Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical and medical devices facilities worked closely with the FDA to ensure all plants were able to return to their regular business schedule as fast as possible.”

To read more about the pharma industry's rapid response to Maria and, now more than two years later, how Puerto Rico is maintaining its standing as one of the most attractive life sciences manufacturing hubs, view the full report

 (cycle down to page 30). The report is produced by Focus Reports and featured in Pharm Exec's December 2019 issue.

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