One major supplier has 6-12 month inventory of U.S.-manufactured supplies. Supplies said not to be major expense for at least one major IVF practice.
BY RON SHINKMAN
Donald Trump imposed a 10% “baseline” tariff on most countries on April 5. Along with that, he imposed additional reciprocal tariffs on nations with which the U.S. has trade deficits. Although Trump put a 90-day “pause” on virtually all of the second round of tariffs, he maintained a 125% tariff on imports from China, along with another 20% tariff “to address the fentanyl crisis:” and an additional tariff on some goods that are as high as 245%.
The IVF sector relies heavily on medical supplies that include needles, syringes, pipettes, as well as laboratory equipment or hardware such as centrifuges and cryo-storage tanks.
Along with being the largest trade partner by far with the U.S., China is also a major supplier of medical and laboratory equipment, including glassware, plasticware and a variety of instruments and hardware such as microscopes.
But it could take months before the tariffs might really impact the reproductive health sector, executives say.
Craig Hoffmann, chief executive officer for the IVF store, a Georgia-based company that specializes in distributing supplies and equipment for the reproductive health sector, indicated that little is expected to change in the near-term.
Hoffmann said he has been sending out emails to clients allaying their fears. Those emails note that the majority of the IVF Store’s product lines are manufactured in the U.S., and inventory for most items runs for six to 12 months.
Hoffmann’s email also noted that while “a significant portion of the global syringe supply originates from China,” all of the IVF Store’s supplies are manufactured in either the U.S. or Germany.
Scarcity of items sourced from China biggest area of concern
However, there is one area of concern: “blood collection and processing items sourced from China will likely see immediate pricing and availability challenges,” Hoffmann wrote.
Hoffmann shared that email in response to a query from an Ovation Fertility executive inquiring about stocks on hand and whether the IVF Store was doing anything to mitigate tariff-related issues.
A spokesperson for Ovation Fertility did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Two other major laboratory equipment and clinical suppliers for the fertility sector, Becton Dickinson and the Astorg-owned Hamilton Thorne, did not respond to requests from Inside Reproductive Health seeking comment.
Not expected to affect IVF pricing, says Stern
One other major IVF practice in the U.S. indicated that business will likely remain unchanged.
“I haven’t seen any impact on pricing since the tariffs were imposed,’ said David Stern, chief executive officer of Boston IVF. He added that most of Boston IVF’s suppliers are based in the U.S.
“I think it’s too early to tell what might happen to the pricing of supplies,” Stern observed.
Even if a spike might be coming down the road, Stern indicated that most of Boston IVF’s operational expenses are tied to the costs of facility maintenance and staffing that “I don’t think pricing of our services will change because of this,” he said.
