As China cases surge, India must keep an eye on raw material supplies

Epidemiologist forecasts 10% of world population will be infected in next 90-days

As the situation in China unfolds with hospitalisation and deaths rising in the neighbouring country, industry and experts say that India needs to keep a close watch on the situation not just epidemiologically, but also in terms of supply of drug raw materials from China.

Epidemiologically, the concern is that the Covid-19 outbreak in China might spawn new mutations of the virus. On Monday, US state department spokesman Ned Price expressed concerns that anytime the virus spreads in the wild, it has the potential to mutate and pose a threat to people across the globe.

US-based epidemiologist and health economist,