Which Supply Chains are Most Exposed by Disruptions in The Strait of Hormuz?

In a conversation with Pharmaceutical Executive, Jeff Golfman, founder and president of Send 123, situates the Strait of Hormuz risk within a much broader global supply chain contraction. Golfman stresses that the disruption is not confined to pharmaceuticals; it is affecting all industries, driving a consistent pattern of shrinking supply, falling availability, and rising prices.

From the vantage point of Send 123, which supplies doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and medical supply companies, he observes clear constraints: fewer ships and reduced shipping capacity are tightening access to essential goods. The geography of the region heightens the stakes: with India, Pakistan, the Gulf states (e.g., Dubai), Europe, and Asia in close proximity, a large share of global demand for medicines is clustered around a volatile chokepoint.

Golfman points to specific categories of pharmaceutical products that are particularly exposed: vaccines, cancer therapies, insulin, and other critical treatments that are either manufactured in, or routed through, this region. As supply lanes constrict, these high-dependency therapies are likely to experience the earliest and most acute disruptions, with knock-on effects in cost and continuity of care worldwide.

His overarching message is that the Strait of Hormuz situation exemplifies a systemic vulnerability: when a key node in global logistics is threatened, the impacts cascade across everyday life, business operations, and health systems globally. Pharmaceutical supply chains, especially for life-sustaining drugs originating from or reliant on this corridor, stand at the front line of that risk.