Articles of Transnationals

Caffeine, the same stimulant that helps millions of people start their day, also saves lives in hospitals. If a premature baby is unable to breathe at birth, called primary apnea, caffeine citrate gets its immature lungs going. It is an old drug, well known and cheap to produce. But it has an important uncertainty: only two companies manufacture it and some presentations have only one alternative on the market. If there were to be a problem in the drug’s long supply chain, many newborns’ chances of surviving would be compromised.