Middle East War Disrupts Medicine Supply

A war in the Middle East, sparked by United States and Israeli attacks on Iran and broadened by Iranian strikes, has severely disrupted the flow of critical medicines to the Gulf region. Key air transit hubs like United Arab Emirates===Dubai and Qatar===Doha have been closed, and shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, are snarled. This conflict imperils supply routes for cancer drugs and other treatments requiring refrigeration, forcing pharmaceutical and logistics companies such as Emirates (airline), Etihad Airways, Deutsche Post===DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, and United Parcel Service===Marken to reroute flights and find overland access through alternative locations like Saudi Arabia, Oman, Istanbul, China, and Singapore. While the industry is currently coping, the disruptions are leading to longer transit times, higher fuel costs, and a risk of major shortages within weeks if the conflict persists, particularly for short shelf-life and temperature-sensitive medicines.