Are 80% of antibiotics produced by China?

While China produces the most antibiotics of any country, it accounts for around 45% of the global supply, not 80%.

According to 2022 data, China’s share of the world antibiotic supply is four times the next largest exporter’s, India.

The U.S. ranks as the 5th largest manufacturer of antibiotics, holding approximately 4.5% of the export market. The U.S. accounted for 7% of antibiotics imported by all countries in 2022.

All major American and European drug manufacturers have ceased production and development of antibiotics. Antibiotics are particularly unprofitable due to multiple regulatory and market factors, such as regulation-enforced low pricing and expensive scaling of production.

However, the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, as well as disproportionate reliance on foreign supply, has prompted bipartisan efforts to revive the development and production of antibiotics in the U.S.